UN Experts Condemn Trump's Sanctions On International Criminal Court

GENEVA, Feb 11 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- UN experts on Monday expressed "grave concern" over US President Donald Trump’s recent executive order sanctioning officials of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Anadolu Ajansi reported.

“The order is an attack on global rule of law and strikes at the very heart of the international criminal justice system. The financial restrictions it will impose undermine the ICC and its investigations into war crimes and crimes against humanity across the world, including those committed against women and children,” the experts said in a statement.

“By sanctioning the ICC, the U.S. President is gravely undermining the 'never again' legacy of Nuremberg, a cornerstone of evolving international criminal law since 1945," they said, referring to the post-World War II prosecution of Nazi war criminals.

“With this order, the US has empowered war criminals by seeking to punish the ICC, denying justice and reparation to thousands of victims around the world, including women and children,” they said. “This law makes a mockery of the decades-long quest to place law above force and atrocity.”

“Justice must apply equally to all, without exception. Upholding international law is not a selective process – it is a shared responsibility that strengthens, rather than threatens global security, including that of the United States,” the experts said.

Imposing sanctions on court personnel for carrying out their professional responsibilities constitutes a "flagrant violation of human rights and undermines the principles of judicial independence and the rule of law," they underlined.

The US sanctions on the ICC would appear to amount to offenses against the administration of justice under Article 70 of the Rome Statute, they added.

Trump last week signed an executive order sanctioning the ICC and accusing it of "illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel."

Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant face arrest warrants issued by The Hague-based court in November last year for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.

-- BERNAMA-ANADOLU