By HENRY LAMB

Sen. Jesse Helms has taken action to protect U.S. citizens from the growing power of the United Nations. He has introduced S-2726 which prohibits U.S. cooperation with the International Criminal Court and limits relations with countries that support the court. Also, the court would be prohibited from conducting an investigation in "any territory subject to the jurisdiction of the United States."

The bill instructs the President to veto any U.N. Security Council resolution calling for the use of American troops unless the resolution specifically provides permanent exemption for U.S. military personnel from prosecution by the U.N. court.

To insure that the law is obeyed, the bill prohibits the participation of U.S. military in U.N. peacekeeping projects until the president has certified to Congress that U.S. military personnel have been exempted from prosecution. Helms specified that U.S. troops in a U.N. operation may not set foot on the soil of a nation that has ratified the U.N. Court unless the president certifies that the nation has entered into an agreement preventing the U.N. Court from prosecuting U.S. personnel.

The bill also prohibits the transfer of "national security information" to the court, or to any nation that ratifies the court, unless the president provides a written agreement with the nation that the information won’t be made avail- available to the U.N. Court. The straw that is considered likely to break the court’s back is the prohibition of military assistance to any nation that has ratified the U.N. court—unless the President provides certification in the form of a written agreement with the nation preventing the U.N. court from proceeding against an American citizen.

After pushing for creation of the court, the Clinton administration joined five other nations to vote against the final document in Rome, 1998 when 120 nations would not allow the US to exempt its citizens from the court’s jurisdiction.

However, negotiators continued working with the court’s preparatory committee to find a way to exempt high officials in the U.S. government. U.S. efforts failed again when the committee refused to accept U.S. Ambassador David Scheffer’s pro- proposal that the court only prosecute citizens of "irresponsible nations." The document adopted in Rome provides authority for the court to prosecute citizens of any nation—including those that have not ratified it.

While the purpose of the court is said to be the prosecution of war criminals and international terrorists, nothing in the document limits the court’s jurisdiction. The court itself defines its jurisdiction and many of the delegates in Rome openly anticipated the court’s prosecution of violations of all international law, especially human rights and environmental law.

The court will go into force 60 days after the Rome document is ratified by 60 nations. Currently, 97 nations have signed the document, indicating intent to ratify, and 12 nations have actually presented documents of ratification.

Helms’ bill will give pause to nations that have not ratified the document. If it becomes law, the court will most likely be stopped dead in its tracks—unless the document is ratified by the Senate, which would automatically repeal Helms’ legislation. Helms has vowed to block the treaty "so long as there is breath in me." ________________________________________________________________