US embassy cable - 04MANAMA865

UNCLAS MANAMA 000865 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR PM/SNA, NEA/RA, AND NEA/ARP 
CAIRO FOR STEVE BONDY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, BA, KICC 
SUBJECT: OPPOSITION TO ARTICLE 98 AGREEMENTS APPEARS IN 
BAHRAIN'S PRESS 
 
REF: MANAMA 831 
 
1.SUMMARY AND COMMENT:  Bahraini Arabic newspapers reported 
that participants at human rights conference roundly 
criticized U.S. article 98 agreements.  Fortunately, 
participants did not discuss the U.S.-Bahrain Article 98 
agreement.  This negative press reinforces our view that 
obtaining parliamentary approval for Article 98 entry into 
force would be next to impossible at this time.  END SUMMARY 
AND COMMENT. 
 
2. The June 5 edition of the semi-governmental Arabic daily 
"al-Ayam" carried a story about a regional human rights 
conference on the ratification and implementation of the 
International Criminal Court Treaty.  The seminar was 
sponsored by the Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS), the 
International Federation for Human Rights (IFHR - possibly a 
French NGO), and Bahrain's Ministry of Justice.  Featured 
speakers included the Undersecretary of the Ministry of 
Justice, Shaikh Khalid bin Ali Al-Khalifa, BHRS President 
Sabika Najjar, and an unnamed IFHR representative. 
 
3. The journalist who wrote the story told POLFSN that a 
Yemeni participant intervened during the discussions to 
stress the important of rejecting the ratification of any 
bilateral treaty with the U.S. that protects its soldiers and 
citizens from the jurisdiction of the ICC.  Participants from 
Egypt and Jordan juxtaposed the EU's lack of concern with the 
supreme judicial authority granted in the treaty to the ICC 
with U.S. efforts to escape international accountability by 
signing such bilateral agreements.  A Bahraini member of the 
Bahrain Society for Human Rights, a GOB-endorsed NGO, sought 
clarification on the extent of protections a bilateral 
agreement might provide to American citizens.  He also 
questioned whether bilateral treaties grant any American 
immunity from ICC prosecution if they commit crimes in 
countries that are parties to the ICC convention. 
NEUMANN