| Press Statement Philip T. Reeker, Deputy Spokesman Washington, DC August 1, 2002 U.S. and Romania Sign Article 98 AgreementOn August, 1, 2002, in Bucharest, Romania, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security John R. Bolton and Romanian Acting Foreign Minister Cristian Diaconescu signed an agreement under the auspices of Article 98 of the Rome Statute to protect persons from surrender to the International Criminal Court. We appreciate that Romania is the first country to sign an Article 98 agreement with the United States today. By signing this bilateral agreement with the United States, Romania has shown that it understands our position, and the fact that we are not seeking to weaken the ICC or to undermine the integrity of international peacekeeping operations. We expect to conclude similar agreements with a large number of countries and are actively pursuing discussions toward this end. These agreements are consistent with the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and will help to provide the safeguards we seek to protect Americans from surrender to the ICC. While we respect the decision of those countries who have chosen to join the International Criminal Court, we hope that countries will respect the decision of the United States not to join, and will follow Romania’s lead in working with us on practical means of addressing our serious concerns about the ICC. The United States has been and continues to be among the most forceful advocates for the principle of accountability for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. |
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