A European Union representative has hit back on Tuesday, July 15th at the reported plans of U.S. president Donald Trump to “systematically disable” the International Criminal Court (ICC).
According to the EU’s Anouar El Anouni
We stand firm in our support for the international criminal court… Attacks or threats against the court, elected officials, personnel or those cooperating with the court are simply not acceptable.
Let’s also recall that the ICC does not target sovereign states, nor does it constitute a threat to their sovereignty.
Earlier this week, it was disclosed that the White House is weighing up ways to isolate or dismantle the ICC, in a briefing from an anonymous State Department official.
Following up on proposals from the first Trump administration, various options are on the table for targeting the ICC. This could include travel bans, revoking visas, and further sanctions against the ICC and its affiliates. The U.S. could also apply diplomatic pressure to other nations to make them withdraw from the Court.
States that refuse to reject the ICC—but rely on U.S. assistance—are likely to come under increased scrutiny, with the State Department telling Reuters
We will watch with interest which nations join ranks with us against this threat to Americans who are willing to risk their lives to protect others.
In the name of national sovereignty, both President Trump and his Secretary of State Marco Rubio are seeking to ensure that their own officials and military servicemen and women can’t be prosecuted,
Concerns about ICC ‘mission creep’ have grown, while dubious allegations of Israeli ‘war crimes’ flagged the institution’s political bias. Meanwhile the ICC itself remains bogged down in a long-running sexual misconduct dispute involving its now-suspended Chief Prosecutor, Karim Khan.
