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U.S. May Withhold Economic
Aid to Costa Rica
The United States may suspend
economic aid to eight Latin
American countries - including
Costa Rica - that Refuse to
Shield Americans from
International Criminal Court (ICC).
Colombia, Panama are among those
countries that concluded
bilateral nonsurrender
agreements with the United
States. Costa Rica, along with
Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil, Peru,
Ecuadro, Venezuela and Mexico
have has not.
U.S. president George W. Bush
has the power to take Costa Rica
(and the other countries) off
the "black" list, however has
not done so in the past.
The International Criminal Court
is the first ever permanent,
treaty based, international
criminal court established to
promote the rule of law and
ensure that the gravest
international crimes do not go
unpunished.
The Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court was
established on 17 July 1998,
when 120 States participating in
the "United Nations Diplomatic
Conference of Plenipotentiaries
on the Establishment of an
International Criminal Court"
adopted the Statute. The Statute
entered into force on 1 July
2002. Anyone who commits any of
the crimes under the Statute
after this date will be liable
for prosecution by the Court.
It is yet unknown the amount of
aid that may be withheld from
the Latin nations for the 2006
fiscal year, that began on
October 1.
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