Seventy-two countries denounce US sanctions against the ICC at the UN

At the request of Germany, 72 countries, states party to the Rome Statute that created the International Criminal Court (ICC), denounced this Monday, in a joint declaration at the UN, the recent US sanctions against two of its members.

"We reaffirm our unfailing support for the Court as an independent and impartial judicial institution," affirmed the signatories of that statement read before the UN General Assembly.

These include countries on every continent, including traditional allies of the United States, such as Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom or France.

The signatories want to "preserve the integrity and independence (of the ICC) without being discouraged by measures or threats against the Court, its officials and those who cooperate with it."

"Sanctions are a tool against those responsible for the most serious crimes and not against those who demand justice," they added, rejecting "any attempt to undermine the independence of the Court."

In a statement, Richard Dicker, of the NGO Human Rights Watch, celebrated this "categorical rejection of the unprecedented use of sanctions by Washington."

According to him, “that statement (…) clearly and strongly says to the US administration: 'It is our Court, please refrain' from intervening.

In early September, the United States imposed unprecedented economic sanctions on Fatou Bensouda, prosecutor of the ICC, and Phakiso Mochochoko, director of its division of competition, complementarity and cooperation.

The Hague-based institution, created in 2002 to prosecute the world's worst atrocities, in March authorized the opening of an investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Afghanistan, including abuses by US soldiers and members of the the CIA.

Before the General Assembly, the Deputy United States Ambassador to the United States, Richard Mills, reaffirmed the “objection of principle (of his country) to any attempt by the ICC to exercise its jurisdiction over citizens of countries that are not party to the Rome Statute, including the United States and Israel, in the absence of a request for a pronouncement by the UN Security Council or the consent of such a State.

With his stance, "the US government seeks to protect US personnel from unfair and illegitimate prosecution by the ICC, which threatens US sovereignty," added Mills

The article was extracted by INFOBAE, see here.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked with *