ICC -- GOI PLANS TO ACCEDE TO ROME STATUTE IN 2008

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001753

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, IO, L, PM
NSC FOR E.PHU
SECDEF FOR USDP/ISA/APSA WALTON

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/16/2018
TAGS: PREL KICC PGOV ID
SUBJECT: ICC -- GOI PLANS TO ACCEDE TO ROME STATUTE IN 2008

REF: 07 JAKARTA 1656

Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Indonesian preparations are on track to
accede to the Rome Statute and become a member of the
International Criminal Court (ICC) perhaps by late this year.
The principle of accession is part of a 2004 national human
rights action plan which the GOI is implementing. The
interagency policy and legal rationale for the move is being
drafted and legislation will follow shortly. One key reason
why there is support in Indonesia for accession is the fact
that the Rome Statute is not retroactive and thus GOI
personnel could not come up for ICC charges for past
misdeeds. END SUMMARY.

PLANNING TO ACCEDE


2. (C) The GOI seems on track to accede to the Rome Statute.
On September 12, Dep/Pol/C met with Harkristiti Harkristowo,
Director General for Human Rights in the Department of Law
and Human Rights, to inquire about the status of Indonesia's
plans to accede to the International Criminal Court.
Harkristowo said Indonesia's National Human Rights Action
Plan, created in 2004, mandated accession to the ICC by 2008.
The Department of Defense was still briefing the Indonesian
Armed Forces (TNI) on the Rome Statute and the implications
of accession. Defense Minister Sudarsono supported the bill,
she said, but the TNI was still debating its full
implications.

PREPARING LEGISLATION


3. (C) Harkrisnowo said her office was now in the process of
drafting an "academic memorandum" with background on the ICC
and the policy and legal rationale for accession. Two
interagency meetings had been held in the past month to
develop the policy consensus and a third meeting was planned.
The memorandum would be circulated to legal experts inside
and outside the government for comment and would eventually
become the cover memorandum for accession legislation that
would be presented to the Indonesian Parliament.


4. (C) Harkrisnowo said her office would soon begin drafting
the actual legislation. The bill would be fairly simple and
would consist of 1) the decision to accede and 2)
instructions to ministers to bring laws and regulations into
conformity with the accession decision. She said little
coordination had occurred yet with the Indonesian legislature
(DPR). She noted that this step usually occurred after the
draft legislation had been submitted to the president.


5. (C) DPR contacts have confirmed that ICC accession is on
the legislative agenda for 2008. That does not guarantee
passage before the end of the calendar year, but the fact
that it reportedly has been moved ahead of other pieces of
legislation, including the reform of the military justice
system, suggests that the DPR intends to give it high
priority. DPR legislation typically passes with a broad
multiparty consensus. So far, there has been very little
public comment on the principle of ICC accession, so it is
difficult to tell how easy it will be to reach consensus.
That said, if the government pushes, the DPR will probably
get on board without too much problem.


6. (C) Neither the academic memorandum nor the bill itself
would address U.S. or other third-country positions regarding
the ICC, Harkrisnowo stated. The impact of Indonesia's
accession on its relations with other countries was a
separate issue that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DEPLU)

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was already considering but that would not play a major role
in the accession. DEPLU would take the lead, once the bill
had become law, to make any necessary arrangements with other
countries. (Note: This is consistent with indications from
DEPLU, which referred us to the Department for Law and Human
Rights regarding the Rome Statute. That said, senior DEPLU
officials indicated in 2007 Indonesia's readiness to conclude
an Article 98 agreement with the United States--reftel.)

NON-RETROACTIVITY IS KEY


7. (C) Given that the accession principle is already
embedded in the GOI's national action plan, our sense is that
the issue will not generate much debate in the DPR. GOI
officials are well aware that the Rome Statute is not
retroactive from the date of a nation's accession and that
the ICC therefore will not have the authority to deal with
human rights issues from Indonesia's past. If the ICC had
retroactive jurisdiction, Indonesia would be far less ready
to accede to the Rome Statute. Any DPR debate on subjecting
the TNI to the ICC will, in any case, need to focus on future
accountability.

HUME