UN: The mandates for two threatened UN peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Croatia have been renewed following agreement at the Security Council to a compromise on the vexed issue of whether US troops would be subject to the new international war crimes court.
Under the compromise agreed 15-0 - including Ireland - at the Security Council on Friday, former and current peacekeeping personnel from countries which do not support the court, among them the US, will get a year-long delay in any investigation or prosecution "if the case arises". The exemption can be renewed every year by a vote of the Security Council.
The US had sought blanket indefinite immunity for its troops and its willingness to compromise, signalled on Wednesday last, saw implicit recognition by the US of the treaty setting up the court.
The compromise is framed in terms of the treaty's article 16 which allows for the deferral of investigations, although the latter had been intended to be used only to postpone the investigation of leaders of belligerent countries during delicate peace negotiations.
The four countries holding out longest against the US compromise, Ireland, France, Mauritius, and Mexico, were eventually reassured by a letter from the Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan, which said the draft met all his legal concerns.
However, the US sabre-rattling on the issue did not end with the compromise. Its ambassador, Mr John Negroponte, warned after the vote that the resolution was just a first step that offered "a degree of protection for the coming year" from the court's remit.
"Should the court eventually seek to detain any American, the US would regard this as illegitimate and it would have serious consequences," he said.
Most of the council's members were relieved by the resolution of a dispute which had the potential to seriously complicate the UN's peacekeeping role and was one of the most public fallings-out of allies in the UN for years.
The French ambassador, Mr Jean David Levitte, a bitter opponent of granting US immunity, insisted that the text was acceptable because it did not grant blanket immunity.
However, Canada's ambassador, Mr Paul Heinbecker, said they were "extremely disappointed" and complained: "We don't think it's in the mandate of the Security Council to interpret treaties negotiated somewhere else."
The German Justice Minister, Ms Herta Daeubler-Gmelin, said it was good that peacekeeping would not be blocked for now, "but a sour aftertaste remains".
"Special rules for strong countries - particularly when the issue at stake is the global pursuit of the worst human rights violations - are inappropriate and not compatible with the principle of the rule of law," she said.
Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have said they believe the resolution is an illegal violation of the treaty.
Jim Cusack, Security Editor, adds: The 59 Irish soldiers serving under NATO command in the UN-mandated peacekeeping mission in Sarajevo will continue their work with the multi-national force, the Department of Defence has confirmed.
The soldiers were on the verge of being withdrawn after the United States threatened to block the UN from renewing its mandate for Sfor (Stability Force) in Bosnia. The State's policy of neutrality means that Irish forces only serve on UN-mandated peacekeeping missions.
The Irish contingent consists of a company of military police who serve with the Sfor headquarters in Sarajevo. They are part of a 17,000-strong Sfor brigade under French command.
The Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, is travelling to Sarajevo to meet the troops next week.