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UN experts on Friday urged Member States of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to implement more stringent measures to safeguard the future of the Court after the latest string of sanctions by the United States targeting senior court officials, emphasizing that such sanctions threaten justice and only serve to embolden the perpetrators of atrocities.
In commenting on the importance of collective action to ensure that the future of the Court and the rights of survivors of the most heinous crimes of humanity remain intact, the experts stated:
‘The imperative to act is all the more urgent because the US Government has pledged to ‘systematically dismantle the ICC’ on the erroneous claim that it threatens US sovereignty…If that policy succeeds, it will roll back international criminal accountability gains against impunity forged in the fires of Nuremberg and Tokyo, and the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda; and extinguish hope for victims of the gravest atrocity crimes across the world.’
The latest series of sanctions imposed by the Trump Administration targets ICC President Tomoko Akane and Senior Trial Lawyer Abdoulaye Seye of Senegal as part of what organizations such as the International Bar Association say is an intimidation campaign designed to penalize the world’s top court for its investigation into the alleged perpetration of war crimes by officials from non-member countries such as the US and Israel. The US Department of State had announced the sanctions against both officials on the 18th of August 2026, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling the court ‘corrupt and fatally politicized.’
The ICC had condemned the US’ imposition of the sanctions on both figures, which would result in the freezing of their US assets, being prohibited from stepping foot on US soil and the inability to utilize US-linked credit cards or access financial services tied to the country, as a blow to international accountability. The UN experts have also expressed concern that the extraterritorial implications of these sanctions were clear violations of the fundamental civil liberties of the court’s officials, in particular, Article 70 of the Rome Statute, the foundational treaty that empowers the ICC, which protects officials from being coerced, threatened or retaliated against in the course of them performing their duties.
The US has a long and notable history of imposing sanctions on ICC officials across different contexts, such as during the period where the ICC was examining alleged war crimes perpetrated by US military personnel in Afghanistan, which led to sanctions imposed on then Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and Phakiso Mochochoko in 2020 under Executive Order 13928, although this was later rescinded by the Biden Administration.
In the context of the war in Gaza, the ICC’s issuance of arrest warrants against key Israeli officials such as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defence, Yoav Gallant has resulted in figures such as former Prosecutor Karim Khan, judge Beti Hohler, and judge Reine Alapini-Gansou being sanctioned.
The latest wave of sanctions places the international community at a critical juncture, making cooperation more important now than ever, although the ultimate outcome remains to be seen.
The post UN experts call for urgent action from ICC Member States to defend the Court against fresh US penalties targeting its top officials appeared first on JURIST - News.
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In commenting on the importance of collective action to ensure that the future of the Court and the rights of survivors of the most heinous crimes of humanity remain intact, the experts stated:
‘The imperative to act is all the more urgent because the US Government has pledged to ‘systematically dismantle the ICC’ on the erroneous claim that it threatens US sovereignty…If that policy succeeds, it will roll back international criminal accountability gains against impunity forged in the fires of Nuremberg and Tokyo, and the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda; and extinguish hope for victims of the gravest atrocity crimes across the world.’
The latest series of sanctions imposed by the Trump Administration targets ICC President Tomoko Akane and Senior Trial Lawyer Abdoulaye Seye of Senegal as part of what organizations such as the International Bar Association say is an intimidation campaign designed to penalize the world’s top court for its investigation into the alleged perpetration of war crimes by officials from non-member countries such as the US and Israel. The US Department of State had announced the sanctions against both officials on the 18th of August 2026, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling the court ‘corrupt and fatally politicized.’
The ICC had condemned the US’ imposition of the sanctions on both figures, which would result in the freezing of their US assets, being prohibited from stepping foot on US soil and the inability to utilize US-linked credit cards or access financial services tied to the country, as a blow to international accountability. The UN experts have also expressed concern that the extraterritorial implications of these sanctions were clear violations of the fundamental civil liberties of the court’s officials, in particular, Article 70 of the Rome Statute, the foundational treaty that empowers the ICC, which protects officials from being coerced, threatened or retaliated against in the course of them performing their duties.
The US has a long and notable history of imposing sanctions on ICC officials across different contexts, such as during the period where the ICC was examining alleged war crimes perpetrated by US military personnel in Afghanistan, which led to sanctions imposed on then Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and Phakiso Mochochoko in 2020 under Executive Order 13928, although this was later rescinded by the Biden Administration.
In the context of the war in Gaza, the ICC’s issuance of arrest warrants against key Israeli officials such as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defence, Yoav Gallant has resulted in figures such as former Prosecutor Karim Khan, judge Beti Hohler, and judge Reine Alapini-Gansou being sanctioned.
The latest wave of sanctions places the international community at a critical juncture, making cooperation more important now than ever, although the ultimate outcome remains to be seen.
The post UN experts call for urgent action from ICC Member States to defend the Court against fresh US penalties targeting its top officials 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.