WASHINGTON -- February 22 -- The World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee asked "all governments which have not yet ratified the Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court, and especially the United States, to ratify it promptly without reservations".

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The US was one of only seven countries (including China, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Qatar and Israel) to oppose the International Criminal Court (ICC).  Human Rights Watch reports that since 2002 the Bush Administration has threatened to withhold financial support from nations that do not “approve bilateral agreements requiring them not to surrender American nationals to the ICC. The goal of these agreements ("impunity agreements" or so-called "Article 98 agreements") is to exempt U.S. nationals from ICC jurisdiction. They also lead to a two-tiered rule of law for the most serious international crimes: one that applies to U.S. nationals; another that applies to the rest of the world's citizens.” For more background on the US and the ICC click here.

"The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now 342, in more than 120 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but works cooperatively with the WCC. The highest governing body is the assembly, which meets approximately every seven years. The WCC was formally inaugurated in 1948 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its staff is headed by general secretary Samuel Kobia from the Methodist church in Kenya."