02/10/2000 (Agence Europe) - On the occasion of the EU/United States ministerial session in Paris on 2 October, Human Rights Watch stressed that the EU and the United States should establish "principled joint positions" on issues such as disarmament of militia, accountability for crimes committed in East Timor, war crimes in Sierra Leone and human rights violations in Chechnya. In addition, the EU should put pressure on the United States regarding the death penalty, the status of the future International Criminal Court (Washington's request to secure immunity for its citizens "would sap the Court of its credibility and impartiality"), the "Plan Colombia" (the decision not to link military aid to that country to the respect of human rights which amounts to "tacit approval" of tolerance towards paramilitary groups) and Washington's refusal to sign and ratify the international landmines treaty.