Agence France Presse, January 24, 2003 Friday, Domestic,
non-Washington, General News, 392 words, US seals 18th ICC immunity
deal as Djibouti agrees to pact, WASHINGTON, Jan 24

The United States on Friday signed a deal with Djibouti that gives US
troops in the Horn of Africa country immunity from prosecution by the
International Criminal Court (ICC).

The pact, the 18th so-called "Article 98 agreement" the United States
has entered into, was signed by US Secretary of State Colin Powell
and Djibouti's Foreign Minister Ali Abdi Farah at a State Department
ceremony.

The ceremony was held after a meeting between Powell and Djibouti's
President Ismael Omar Guelleh who is currently in Washington and met
US President George W. Bush on Tuesday.

Washington refuses to support the ICC, arguing that it could become a
forum for politically motivated prosecutions against US citizens,
including civilian military contractors and former officials, and has
been on a worldwide campaign to sign such immunity deals.

Since last July, when the treaty creating the ICC came into effect,
the United States has signed immunity deals with 17 other countries.

The others are: Afghanistan, the Dominican Republic, East Timor, El
Salvador, Gambia, Honduras, India, Israel, the Marshall Islands,
Mauritania, Micronesia, Nepal, Palau, Romania, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan
and Uzbekistan.

In addition to the Article 98 agreement, Powell and Guelleh also
discussed various issues including the global war on terrorism,
possible war with Iraq and peace efforts in Sudan and Somalia, State
Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.

"We have excellent relations now with Djibouti," he said.

"We're close partners in the fight against terrorism, we work
together to promote regional peace and security and share a common
interest in advancing economic development and growth in the Horn of
Africa."

Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the United States has
deployed 900 members of its Special Forces in Djibouti, which sits
strategically at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, facing Yemen
and just to the north of Somalia.
Djibouti is a former French colony with a population of some 700,000.
France maintains a garrison in the country under a defense agreement.

On Tuesday, Bush told Guelleh, who is making his first visit to the
United States since he became president in May 1999, that Washington
intends to open an office of the US Agency for International
Development in Djibouti.
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Ms. Shantha Rau
Information Services Coordinator
NGO Coalition for the International Criminal Court

777 UN Plaza 12th Floor
New York, New York 10017
USA
Telephone +1 212 687 2176 Faxsimile +1 212 599 1332
Email [email protected]
Web http://www.iccnow.org
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