US Attack On ICC for Taking Actions Against Israel

WASHINGTON: On Wednesday, the United States imposed strict sanctions on 4 International judges who made cases against the US’s close ally, Israel.

Overview of the Sanctions:

The Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, issued a statement in which he is defending the US’s actions against the ICC. He said, “The Court is a national security threat that has been an instrument for lawfare against the United States and our close ally Israel.”

He said that these judges, without any consent, had tried to investigate the US and Israel nationals. That’s why the US has imposed sanctions on them. Judge Nicolas Guillou of France was presiding over the 4 panel judges, who issued an arrest warrant for the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. He strongly condemned the action by these judges. 

It is said that Palestine has put forward this case. The state that the United States has not accepted into its constitution. Guillou served in the Justice Department of the United States during Barack Obama’s Presidency. The US also imposed sanctions on him.

US sanctions and Trump’s denial of the ICC:

The sanctions include a complete travel ban to the United Nations on these Judges. Also, there is a freeze on the property of these Judges in the United States. The Secretary of State also imposed sanctions on two Deputy Prosecutors, including Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji and Mame Mandiaye Niang of Senegal.

The United States said that the actions against these Deputy Prosecutors are taken as they both helped ICC judges in issuing arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. 

Trump has denied the authority of the ICC. However, ICC is backed up by all the European democracies, which want to uphold justice when the national systems fail to spread justice in the region. 

The ICC court also issued an arrest warrant for the Russian President Vladimir Putin. On Friday, he met with Trump, but due to the fear of being arrested, he did not travel far. In June, Rubio also sanctioned the other four judges of the ICC.

Response by the ICC:

On Wednesday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) said that it rejected the sanctions imposed by Trump’s administration. The court stated that such actions are meant to suppress the voices raised against oppression globally. 

The ICC said in a statement, “These sanctions are a flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution which operates under the mandate of 125 states parties from all regions. They also constitute an affront against the Court’s States Parties, the rules-based international order and, above all, millions of innocent victims across the world. The ICC will continue fulfilling mandates in strict accordance with its legal framework, without regard to any pressure or threat.”