Crime tribunal starts work as dispute rages

The world's first permanent war crimes tribunal, under the aegis of the United Nations, opened its modest doors for business in The Hague yesterday, as a tide of international criticism was directed at America for its unrelenting opposition to the scheme.

Armed with just a fax machine and a telephone, four staff workers set up shop in a single room that for now is the office of the International Criminal Court.

The ICC is not expected to start work in earnest until January, but there is no guarantee that the row with Washington will be settled.

The White House promised yesterday to seek a solution before midnight tomorrow to the dispute that threatens to paralyse UN peace-keeping missions, after Washington used its Security Council veto on Sunday to block a routine six-month extension of the mandate of the UN operation in Bosnia.

It later agreed to a three-day stay of execution. But there was little sign of any softening in the US position, despite intense pressure from its allies. "This is a very important matter of principle about protecting Americans who uniquely serve around the globe as peace-keepers," George Bush's spokesman, Ari Fleischer, said.

US officials are threatening to shut down UN-authorised peace-keeping missions one by one, until the Security Council accedes to Washington's demand that US peacekeepers and other American officials working overseas are granted blanket immunity from prosecution by the new court.

Britain, Germany, France and other close US allies denounced Washington's stance. Even Britain, normally the trustiest friend of the US, expressed its disappointment. Washington's resistance was "a serious matter", Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, said. "We do not share their view about this."

The new court, which is backed by 137 countries and has been ratified by more than 70, will be a permanent forum for the prosecution of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

But the US is far from alone in its opposition. Russia and China have refused to endorse the ICC, as has Israel and most Arab countries.

None the less human rights groups hail the court as the biggest milestone for global justice since the Nuremberg Nazi war crimes tribunal was set up in 1945.

So far, the ICC has no courtroom, prosecutor or judges. A skeleton staff will do preliminary set-up work before the first 18 judges and a chief prosecutor are chosen, probably in January.

With the backing of 74 countries, the court has the authority to prosecute individuals – not states – suspected of war crimes anywhere in the world.