US sanctions against the International Criminal Court: an attack on justice!

US sanctions against the International Criminal Court: an attack on justice!

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is under massive pressure! In a dramatic speech, the President of the ICC, Tomoko Akane warned that the attacks on the Tribunal, especially Washington and Moscow, endanger the existence of the court. At the annual conference in the Haag, she spoke of "coerative measures, threats, pressure and sabotage" and emphasized that the integrity of the court is at stake.

The situation escalated when US politicians threatened to impose sanctions against ICC officials after arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant were issued in the Gaza Strip for alleged war crimes. Senator Lindsey Graham described the ICC as a "dangerous joke" and announced that the United States and its allies who help the court have to reckon with sanctions. "If you try to help the ICC, we will sanction you," he threatened on TV.

a court in the line of firing

The attacks on the ICC are not new. In June, the US representative house controlled by Republicans passed a law that provides for sanctions against the court, in response to arrest warrants against Israeli civil servants. Although the Senate, which is currently being controlled by the Democrats, has not yet dealt with the law, this reflects the growing hostility to the ICC. Akane described the efforts to discredit the court as "hideous" and warned that the case of the court would also mean the collapse of the rule of law in the international community.

The USA and Israel are not members of the ICC and have rejected the court's investigation into alleged violations in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank. Nevertheless, the court decided that it is responsible in these areas because the state of Palestine signed the Roman statute that launched the tribunal. Akane asked the international community to defend themselves against the attack on the independence and impartiality of the court, since the victims could no longer receive justice without the ICC.