AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES ARTICLE 98 AGREEMENT WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 004893

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/05/2013
TAGS: MARR PREL KTIA JO KICC
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES ARTICLE 98 AGREEMENT WITH
JORDANIAN UN REP


Classified By: Ambassador Edward W. Gnehm for Reasons 1.5 (B,D)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Ambassador met August 3 with Prince Zeid Bin
Raad, Head of the Jordanian Delegation to the UN in New York,
to discuss the status of a proposed Article 98 non-surrender
agreement between the U.S. and Jordan. Zeid stated that the
GOJ was "politically committed" to reaching such an
agreement, but still had concerns regarding potential gaps in
U.S. criminal jurisdiction over crimes covered by the Rome
Statute and the issue of internally displaced people. Zeid
also expressed his willingness to meet with U.S. officials in
New York to continue negotiations. End summary.


2. (C) In response to a request by the Ambassador, Jordanian
FM Muasher arranged a meeting between himself, the Ambassador
and Prince Zeid on August 3 at the Foreign Ministry in Amman
to take stock of ongoing Article 98 negotiations. Prince
Zeid briefly reviewed his prior meeting in April 2003 with
former Political-Military (PM) Senior Advisor Marisa Lino in
New York, which he characterized as positive, and stated that
he had been expecting a call from Washington to schedule
another round of talks in May or June. While stating his
opinion that "the ball is in the U.S. court," Prince Zeid
also said that Jordan was committed to signing an Article 98
agreement and that he was ready to pursue further
negotiations at any time.


3. (C) The Ambassador explained that Lino had recently left
the State Department, but that she had reported that the GOJ
intended to forward a list of questions about U.S. domestic
law prior to another round of talks. When asked about the
status of this list, Prince Zeid launched into an explanation
of Jordan's concerns over gaps and/or inconsistencies between
U.S. law and the Rome Statute. Specifically, he stated that
certain crimes covered by Article 7 of the Rome Statute were
not expressly illegal under U.S. law. Consequently, someone
who had committed a crime as defined by the Rome Statute
might not be subject to prosecution in the U.S. Prince Zeid
further reiterated Jordan's concerns over the interpretation
of Article 8(2)(b) of the Rome Statute relating to crimes
associated with the transfer of civilians by an occupying
power. He then asked if there was any movement to amend the
U.S. penal code to eliminate jurisdictional gaps.


4. (C) The Ambassador explained that the GOJ should not wait
for or expect a change to U.S. criminal law prior to
concluding an Article 98 agreement, since this was a top
priority for the U.S. government. He added, however, that
there was a U.S. commitment to not let criminals escape
justice, and that Washington was keenly aware of Jordan's
concerns. When asked if he still wanted to present a formal
list of questions, Prince Zeid responded that these questions
could be presented and discussed in the context of another
meeting in New York. The Ambassador concluded the discussion
by promising that U.S. officials would approach the Jordanian
UN Mission directly to schedule another round of
negotiations.


5. (C) COMMENT: Prince Zeid professes to be prepared to work
through his reservations on an Article 98 agreement and FM
Muasher has made clear that this is Zeid's instruction from
the King. We can thus expect him to approach seriously a
follow-up meeting in New York. Given Prince Zeid's position
as President of the Assembly of State Parties of the ICC,
however, he is in no rush to conclude a non-surrender
agreement and thus it is up to us to maintain the initiative
and push forward negotiations. End comment.
GNEHM