Hypocritical US in no place to criticise UK about obeying international law

The Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi has given warning that “there will be absolutely no chance of a US-UK trade agreement passing the Congress” if the US Congress deems that “the UK violates that international treaty [Withdrawal Agreement with the EU] and Brexit undermines the Good Friday accord”.
By Michael Palmer
Published 14th Sep 2020, 12:00 BST
US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi pictured speaking at, Stormont last year. She has said the US Congress will not approve a UK-US trade deal if it deems that "the UK violates that international treaty [Withdrawal Agreement with the EU] and Brexit undermines the Good Friday accord".Picture by Arthur Allison. PacemakerUS Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi pictured speaking at, Stormont last year. She has said the US Congress will not approve a UK-US trade deal if it deems that "the UK violates that international treaty [Withdrawal Agreement with the EU] and Brexit undermines the Good Friday accord".Picture by Arthur Allison. Pacemaker
US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi pictured speaking at, Stormont last year. She has said the US Congress will not approve a UK-US trade deal if it deems that "the UK violates that international treaty [Withdrawal Agreement with the EU] and Brexit undermines the Good Friday accord".Picture by Arthur Allison. Pacemaker

This is not only unhelpful but is hypocritical and biased.

The US itself is very selective about which international law it adheres to. For example, the US is not a state party to the Rome Statute that founded the International Criminal Court, an international court that in its own words, “investigates and tries individuals charged with the gravest crimes of concern to the international community: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression”.

While this might seem far-reaching, the ICC itself claims it is “a court of last resort” that “seeks to complement” and “not replace national courts” in its “global fight to end impunity” and “to hold those responsible accountable for their crimes and to help prevent these crimes from happening again.”

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A total of 123 countries, including the UK, think this a good initiative and are thus state parties to the Rome Statute.

The US also withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council under the current Trump Administration, claiming it is “a cesspool of political bias” that “makes a mockery of human rights.” Even Trump himself grouped both the ICC and UNHRC as part of “an unelected, unaccountable, global bureaucracy” that he “will never surrender America’s sovereignty to.” The US isn’t even a state party to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, despite Russia and China being state parties to it.

Similarly, the US withdrew from UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) due to alleged “anti-Israel bias” and intends to withdraw from the WHO (World Health Organisation), even with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, as Trump claims “China has total control over the World Health Organisation.”

This withdrawal from international agreements is not limited to international bodies either; it even extends to agreements it has with other states, such as in the fraught relations the US has with Cuba and Iran.

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So it is of no surprise that unionism finds the US’s intervention on Brexit and its preaching of respecting international law and agreements to be not only hypocritical but also selective. I ask myself why that is, and I can only speculate. But I do remember the former US Vice President and current 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden welcoming the former Taoiseach Enda Kenny to the US in 2015, where he remarked to the international press covering the Taoiseach’s visit: “Anyone wearing orange is not welcome in ... Only Joking.”

The international press and Taoiseach awkwardly laughed off the insensitive joke-with-a-jag, but for me, it lay bare the US’s attitude towards Northern Ireland unionism. And it is very unfair and biased.

Michael Palmer, Newtownards

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Related topics:Brexit