Nairobi, Kenya (CNSNews.com) - A lawmaker here plans to introduce a motion in parliament censuring the United States for withholding some military aid to Kenya because Kenya refused to sign a treaty relating to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The U.S. Embassy in Nairobi confirmed that Washington has frozen $13 million which Kenya planned to use to purchase and mainten military hardware in the 2004-05 fiscal year.

The U.S. has signed "Article 98" agreements with 100 countries around the world whose governments have agreed not to surrender U.S. citizens to the ICC without American consent, and vice versa. The agreements are named for the relevant article of the Rome Statute, the ICC's founding document.

The court, set up in 2002 and based in The Hague, deals mostly with cases of genocide, crimes against humanity and other human rights violations.

The U.S. opposes the ICC, worried that it could be used for politically motivated actions against Americans, especially U.S. soldiers deployed abroad.

The American Servicemembers' Protection Act (ASPA), passed in 2002, prohibits U.S. military aid to countries that have ratified the treaty, but provides exceptions for "major non-NATO allies" and for countries that sign Article 98 agreements with the U.S.

A U.S. Embassy spokesman in Nairobi said not all military assistance would be frozen -- the supply of vital equipment, including patrol boats for the Navy, would continue.

Military cooperation is also continuing. In early June, for instance, U.S. and Kenyan military officials held joint training exercises to improve the Kenyans' capacity to pre-empt airborne terrorist attacks.

The embassy called the proposed parliamentary motion by lawmaker Paul Muite "highly unusual" and warned that it could jeopardize what the two countries had achieved in the four decades since Kenya's independence.

Kenya signed the Rome Treaty on March 13, and some lawmakers argue that signing another treaty (Article 98) would give a conflicting perception of Kenya's position.

Although Justice and Constitutional Affairs Assistant minister Robinson Githae said the U.S. had not formally requested Kenya to conclude a treaty, the embassy says it has been in discussion with the government for the last three months.

"I am sure if a formal request is made, the cabinet will take a position," Githae said.

But Muite said it would not be in Kenyans' interests for the president to sign a treaty before parliament takes a position.

"The world is not under any obligation to follow laws passed by the U.S. Senate, which are discriminatory to other people," he said, referring to the ASPA law.

A cabinet minister suggested that in the absence of U.S. military aid, Kenya should look for help from countries like China, South Africa, Japan and the European Union.

"Precisely because America is a democracy it should be committed to follow international rules and abstain from applying two weights and two measurements," Labor Minister Newton Kulundu said.

Maina Kiai of the Kenya National Human Rights Commission said the country should safeguard its sovereignty and not exchange it for financial handouts. Christian and Muslim leaders also backed Kenya's right to refuse to sign an agreement.

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