Two judges and two prosecutors were being added to a list of ICC members sanctioned by President Donald Trump’s administration, according to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a statement on Wednesday.
According to Rubio, “The Court is a national security threat that has been used as a tool for lawfare against our ally Israel.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant have been on the run-in with the ICC for allegedly committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The court on Wednesday condemned the expanded US sanctions as a “flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution” and the victims of war crimes all over the world and pledged to carry on its work “without regard to restriction, pressure, or threat” following the US State Department announcement.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu applauded Rubio’s decision as a “decisive act against a smear campaign of lies against the State of Israel.”
Kimberly Prost of Canada, Nicolas Guillou of France, Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji, and Mame Mandiaye Niang of Senegal are the targets of the new sanctions.
The court’s two deputy deputy prosecutors are Khan and Niang, while Guillou is an ICC judge and the head of a pre-trial panel that oversaw the release of Netanyahu’s arrest warrant. All three were involved in issuing and upholding Israeli arrest warrants, according to the US Department of State.
Despite US pressure from the US, the ICC said it will prioritize abuses by the Taliban and ISIL (ISIS) in its investigation.
Prost is being punished for “ruling to authorize the ICC’s investigation into US personnel in Afghanistan,” according to the State Department announcement.
Because the countries in which the alleged crimes took place are parties to the ICC, the court maintains that it can issue arrest warrants for citizens of these nations.
The US has long been a vocal critic of the ICC and expressed concern that its own officials might one day face charges for alleged war crimes, but previous administrations had stopped short of drastic measures, such as imposing sanctions.
The Trump administration’s initial round of sanctions earlier this year against a number of ICC officials attracted widespread condemnation and criticism that US actions were harmed international law in order to protect a close ally. They were accused of engaging in “illegitimate and baseless actions” against Israel and the US by the US.
Two of the people who were ordered to pay off on Wednesday are from France and Canada, two other nations that recently announced their intention to recognize a Palestinian state in response to Israeli violations in Gaza and Palestinian residents’ ongoing occupying of land.
The judges’ work is crucial for international justice, according to both France and the UN.
Their contribution to the fight against impunity is crucial, according to a statement from the French Foreign Ministry.
Source: Aljazeera
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