ICC blasts US Government over ‘interference with court rules’

ICC blasts US Government over ‘interference with court rules’

 The International Criminal Court (ICC) has criticized the government of the United States over decision to authorize sanctions against court staff.

In statement on Friday, the ICC said the US actions amounted to “an unacceptable attempt to interfere with the rule of law and the Court’s judicial proceedings.”

An executive order by U.S. President Donald Trump announced Thursday authorizes sanctions against ICC staff investigating American troops and intelligence officials and those of allied nations, including Israel, for possible war crimes in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Trump’s order would block the financial assets of court employees and bar them and their immediate relatives from entering the United States.

The court, which has 123 member states, said in a statement released early Friday that it “stands firmly by its staff and officials and remains unwavering in its commitment to discharging, independently and impartially, the mandate” laid down in its founding treaty, the Rome Statute.

It said an attack on the Hague-based court also constitutes “an attack against the interests of victims of atrocity crimes, for many of whom the Court represents the last hope for justice.”

O-Gon Kwon, president of the court’s management and oversight mechanism, the Assembly of States Parties, also criticized the U.S. measures.

“They undermine our common endeavor to fight impunity and to ensure accountability for mass atrocities,” he said in a statement. “I deeply regret measures targeting Court officials, staff and their families.”

The Hague-based court was created in 2002 to prosecute war crimes and crimes of humanity and genocide in places where perpetrators might not otherwise face justice. The U.S. has never been an ICC member.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday denounced the tribunal as a “kangaroo court” that has been unsuccessful and inefficient in prosecuting war crimes. He said that the U.S. would punish the ICC employees for any investigation or prosecution of Americans in

Afghanistan and added that they could also be banned for prosecuting Israelis for alleged abuses against Palestinians.

“It gives us no joy to punish them,” Pompeo said. “But we cannot allow ICC officials and their families to come to the United States to shop and travel and otherwise enjoy American freedoms as these same officials seek to prosecute the defender of those very freedoms.”

Last year, Pompeo revoked the visa of the court’s chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, after she asked ICC judges to open an investigation into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan. The judges initially rejected the request, she appealed and the the court authorized the investigation in March.

Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok said in a tweet Friday he was “very disturbed by the United States’ measures” and called on Washington not to sanction ICC staff.

“The ICC is crucial in the fight against impunity and in upholding international rule of law,” Blok tweeted.

Senior U.N. and EU officials also spoke out against the decision.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Trump’s order “is a matter of serious concern” and he described EU members as “steadfast supporters” of the tribunal.” Borrell said “it is a key factor in bringing justice and peace,” and that “it must be respected and supported by all nations.”

The United Nations has “taken note with concern” about reports of Trump’s order, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Germany’s Foreign Ministry said Friday that Berlin had taken note of the announcement “with great concern.”

“We have full confidence in (the ICC’s) work,” the ministry said. “It is an indispensable institution in the fight against impunity of international crimes and needed more than ever these days. We reject any pressure on the independent court, its staff or people who work with it.”

Switzerland said it “regrets” the U.S. sanctions and affirmed its support for the court “as an independent institution that prosecutes the most serious crimes and thereby contributes to lasting peace and international stability.”

“Switzerland calls on the USA to revoke these comprehensive measures,” the Foreign Ministry in Bern said in a statement.

It also called on the United States to “conduct a full investigation and prosecution of U.S. personnel” implicated in serious crimes such as genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression.

The American Civil Liberties Union suggested it might seek legal recourse and said the order was “a dangerous display of his contempt for human rights and those working to uphold them.”

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, backed the U.S. action, accusing the court of fabricating “outlandish charges” against his country, and praising the U.S. for standing up for what he called truth and justice.

The International Criminal Court (“ICC” or “the Court”) (www.ICC-CPI.int) expresses profound regret at the announcement of further threats and coercive actions, including financial measures, against the Court and its officials, made earlier today by the Government of the United States.

The ICC stands firmly by its staff and officials and remains unwavering in its commitment to discharging, independently and impartially, the mandate bestowed upon it by the Rome Statute and the States that are party to it.

These are the latest in a series of unprecedented attacks on the ICC, an independent international judicial institution, as well as on the Rome Statute system of international criminal justice, which reflects the commitment and cooperation of the ICC’s 123 States Parties, representing all regions of the world.

These attacks constitute an escalation and an unacceptable attempt to interfere with the rule of law and the Court’s judicial proceedings. They are announced with the declared aim of influencing the actions of ICC officials in the context of the Court’s independent and objective investigations and impartial judicial proceedings.

An attack on the ICC also represents an attack against the interests of victims of atrocity crimes, for many of whom the Court represents the last hope for justice.

As it continues to meet its mandated responsibilities, the Court relies on the staunch support and cooperation of its States Parties. The Court wishes to recall, in this context, yesterday’s joint statement (https://bit.ly/3ffJMxD) from the ten ICC States Parties members of the UN Security Council, reconfirming their “unwavering support for the Court as an independent and impartial judicial institution,” as well as the press statement (https://bit.ly/2B4jpvL) issued earlier today by the President of the Assembly of States Parties.