BRUSSELS: Terming recent US sanctions against two international Criminal Court (ICC) officials as unprecedented EU top diplomat declared the act unacceptable while seeking immediate reversal of the imposed sanctions whereas French foreign minister called them a grave attack on the court.
In March, the ICC unanimously authorized a probe into war crimes in Afghanistan allegedly committed by the US, Afghan, and Taliban forces. The inclusion of US troops in the investigation has drawn the ire of Trump and his top officials.
The sanctions are “unacceptable and unprecedented measures that attempt to obstruct the court’s investigations and judicial proceedings,” EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Josep Borrell said in a statement. The US should “reconsider its position and reverse the measures it has taken,” Borrell added.
His comments came shortly after French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian condemned the sanctions as “a grave attack against the court,” saying it put into question “multilateralism and the independence of the judiciary.”
In September 02, the State Department imposed sanctions against ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda over her investigation into alleged war crimes committed by US troops in Afghanistan. Phakiso Mochochoko, head of the ICC’s Jurisdiction, Complementarity and Cooperation Division, was also sanctioned for providing support for Bensouda’s investigation.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described the ICC as “a thoroughly broken and corrupted institution” and said the US “will not tolerate its illegitimate attempts to subject Americans to its jurisdiction.”
As many as 123 countries around the world are parties to the Rome Statute that created the ICC. The US was originally among them, but President George W. Bush withdrew the signature of his predecessor Bill Clinton and in 2002 the US Congress passed a law that authorized the use of military force to free any Americans or allies held by the ICC.
Earlier, ICC has condemned US saying it will continue to stand firmly by its personnel and its mission of fighting impunity for the world’s most serious crimes under international law, independently and impartially, in accordance with its mandate.
“In doing so, the Court benefits from the strong support and commitment of two thirds of the world’s States which are parties to the Rome Statute”, ICC stated.
