Irish troops and gardaí could be withdrawn from Bosnia unless the United Nations Security Council can resolve a dispute over the US government's demand for immunity from prosecution by the International Criminal Court.
Sixty Irish soldiers are on peacekeeping duties with SFOR, a NATO-led international security force operating in Bosnia with UN authorisation. SFOR comprises 19,000 troops from 19 countries, including 3,300 US service personnel.
Thirty-five gardaí and 46 US police officers are on duty with the 1,536-strong United Nations Mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which is mainly a police-training operation.
The mandate for the mission and the authorisation for SFOR were both due to be renewed by the Security Council from 5 a.m. Irish time this morning. The US was threatening to veto the renewal unless it received a guarantee that none of its personnel would be liable for prosecution by the newly established International Criminal Court (ICC).
The 1998 Rome Treaty setting up the ICC comes into force today. Based in The Hague, it will begin operations next February. It is a permanent global tribunal to prosecute individuals - be they heads of state or ordinary citizens - for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity as of today's date. Ireland ratified the treaty in a referendum held at the same time as the Nice poll in June last year.
UN sources said there was a possibility that a two-week grace period might be agreed before a US veto would take effect. This would allow more time to agree on a compromise formula.
An end to the UN mission's mandate would mean its Garda members returning home because their mission would no longer exist. It was believed SFOR could possibly continue without UN authorisation but Irish troops would still have to be stood down because our defence laws require UN approval for overseas missions.
The 15-nation Security Council, including Ireland, was scheduled to meet last night to renew the police mission, set up in 1995 to train a multi-ethnic police force after Bosnia's three-year civil war. The SFOR authorisation is included in the Bosnia resolution.
Critics say Washington is trying to cripple the ICC before it starts, alleging its campaign is against the court itself, which has been ratified by 69 countries. The US says the court would infringe on national sovereignty and wants guarantees of immunity for Americans because it fears ideologically motivated prosecutions. While in office, former president Clinton signed the treaty for the ICC but the Bush administration later renounced it.
Britain's International Development Secretary, Ms Clare Short, said the US attitude was an "enormous disappointment" which could threaten peacekeeping operations around the world.
"This is an enormous disappointment to everyone in the world who wants some basic rules of decency that apply to all rulers everywhere at all times that would mean a lift up for the world," she told Sky TV.