UNITED NATIONS, June 17: Passionate in its opposition against a new global criminal court, the Bush administration wants the UN Security Council to exclude all peacekeeping operations from the tribunal’s jurisdiction, diplomats said on Monday.

No resolution has emerged, but the United States last month vowed to propose some action before the court’s statutes come into force on July 1. This means a draft is expected this week or next, with the State Department, the White House, the Pentagon and the National Security Council drafting a text.

But British and French officials, among others, have been sounded out by US envoys about the International Criminal Court, the world’s first permanent tribunal to try the most heinous crimes — genocide, war crimes and systematic, gross human rights abuses. One such encounter took place recently on the fringe of the Group of Eight industrial nations foreign ministers meeting in western Canada, the envoys said.

Both Britain and France, who have veto power in the 15-member Security Council, have ratified the treaty creating the court, as have all other European Union members. So far no council member believes Washington even has the minimum nine votes needed to bring such a resolution to the floor.

“But they will make a strong effort, even though the French have already give them a blunt, stern ‘no,’” said one diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The Bush administration and conservative Republicans in Congress adamantly oppose the court as a threat to national sovereignty. They also fear US officials as well as soldiers abroad could be subject to political prosecutions, an action supporters of the court say is extremely unlikely.—Reuters