corrente

UNITED NATIONS, June 23 -- The Bush administration on Wednesday dropped its plan to seek renewal of a resolution shielding U.S. personnel serving in U.N.-authorized peacekeeping missions from prosecution by the International Criminal Court, citing fierce opposition to the initiative.

The exemption for U.S. officials has been a source of resentment since the Security Council first granted it, in July 2002, but Security Council diplomats said the detainee abuse provided a rallying point for supporters of the court.

Others, however, noted that the detainee abuse scandal, combined with Washington's need for international support for its Iraq policy, had undermined the U.S. policy of threatening to shut down U.N. peacekeeping missions if the council failed to grant U.S. officials immunity.

The court was established by a 1998 treaty to prosecute individuals responsible for the most serious crimes, including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

On Thursday, Secretary General Kofi Annan appealed to the council to oppose the resolution, saying that it would "discredit" the United Nations and undercut its promotion of the rule of law.