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Rights groups have criticized recent US sanctions targeting the International Criminal Court (ICC), its staff, and those cooperating with it, including the designation of the ICC prosecutor and four judges.
The coalition of international legal organizations, consisting of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, Human Rights Watch, the International Commission of Jurists, Judges for Judges, and Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada, stressed Wednesday that the ICC is an independent judicial institution, expected to exercise its jurisdiction on the gravest, most heinous crimes against humanity without undue influence from external political powers. The groups emphasized that the imposition of sanctions on officials of a neutral organization risks eroding the international justice system and threatening the sanctity of human rights along with the fundamental pillar of the rule of law which forms the backbone of the ICC’s efforts in eradicating international crimes.
In addressing the UN Human Rights Council, lawyer and UN representative Francesca Restifo stated: “No one is above the law. We must stand with victims and those who seek justice, and we must stand united against impunity.” Her statement underscores the dire sense of urgency that has emerged after US President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order in February declaring that any effort by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute protected persons constitutes a threat to the security of the US. The US’ sanctions on the ICC arose in retaliation forto the court’s issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes perpetrated against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, actions that Trump views as targeting a close US ally.
The ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I had concluded that there were reasonable grounds to believe that both Netanyahu and Gallant were culpable in using starvation as a murder tactic and engaging in inhumane acts against Palestinians. The prohibition of weaponizing starvation as a method of warfare is enshrined under Article 8(2)(b)(xxv) of the Rome Statute whereas the war crime of intentionally directing attacks at a civilian population is in violation of Article 8(2)(b)(i) and Article 28(b) of the Rome Statute. The latest series of sanctions targeted four judges of the court, namely Second Vice-President Reine Adelaide Sophie Alapini Gansou from Benin, Judge Solomy Balungi Bossa from Uganda, Judge Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza from Peru, and Judge Beti Hohler from Slovenia, following the initial sanction on Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan KC.
The US accused the ICC of engaging in “illegitimate and baseless actions” targeting both America and Israel, claiming that the court had set a dangerous precedent that placed current and former US personnel at risk of harassment and potential arrest. Since Head of State immunity against arrest warrants in the ICC do not apply under the Rome Statute, these sanctions bypass legal norms, promoting the pursuit of selective justice.
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The coalition of international legal organizations, consisting of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, Human Rights Watch, the International Commission of Jurists, Judges for Judges, and Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada, stressed Wednesday that the ICC is an independent judicial institution, expected to exercise its jurisdiction on the gravest, most heinous crimes against humanity without undue influence from external political powers. The groups emphasized that the imposition of sanctions on officials of a neutral organization risks eroding the international justice system and threatening the sanctity of human rights along with the fundamental pillar of the rule of law which forms the backbone of the ICC’s efforts in eradicating international crimes.
In addressing the UN Human Rights Council, lawyer and UN representative Francesca Restifo stated: “No one is above the law. We must stand with victims and those who seek justice, and we must stand united against impunity.” Her statement underscores the dire sense of urgency that has emerged after US President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order in February declaring that any effort by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute protected persons constitutes a threat to the security of the US. The US’ sanctions on the ICC arose in retaliation forto the court’s issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes perpetrated against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, actions that Trump views as targeting a close US ally.
The ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I had concluded that there were reasonable grounds to believe that both Netanyahu and Gallant were culpable in using starvation as a murder tactic and engaging in inhumane acts against Palestinians. The prohibition of weaponizing starvation as a method of warfare is enshrined under Article 8(2)(b)(xxv) of the Rome Statute whereas the war crime of intentionally directing attacks at a civilian population is in violation of Article 8(2)(b)(i) and Article 28(b) of the Rome Statute. The latest series of sanctions targeted four judges of the court, namely Second Vice-President Reine Adelaide Sophie Alapini Gansou from Benin, Judge Solomy Balungi Bossa from Uganda, Judge Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza from Peru, and Judge Beti Hohler from Slovenia, following the initial sanction on Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan KC.
The US accused the ICC of engaging in “illegitimate and baseless actions” targeting both America and Israel, claiming that the court had set a dangerous precedent that placed current and former US personnel at risk of harassment and potential arrest. Since Head of State immunity against arrest warrants in the ICC do not apply under the Rome Statute, these sanctions bypass legal norms, promoting the pursuit of selective justice.
The post Rights groups condemn US sanctions on ICC appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.