Faced with new American sanctions, the ICC reacts. The International Criminal Court said in a statement released Tuesday (August 18) that Washington’s sanctions against senior officials “undermine the rule of law.”
“When pressure is put on judicial actors to prevent them from applying the law, it is the international legal order itself that is put in danger,” added the ICC in its text sent to journalists.
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Earlier Tuesday, the United States, which is not a party to the international treaty that established the ICC, imposed sanctions against its president, the Japanese Tomoko Akane, as part of their new campaign against this jurisdiction sitting in The Hague which they accuse of being “politicized”.
They also sanctioned Abdoulaye Seye, the lead prosecution lawyer at the ICC, who is from Senegal.
The ICC “firmly supports its staff”
“The measures targeting judges, prosecutors and staff who work to fulfill the mandate entrusted to the ICC by States undermine the rule of law,” reacted the Court.
The ICC said it remained “unwavering” and “strongly supports its staff and the victims of unimaginable atrocities.”
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The United States has already in the past imposed sanctions on several officials of this institution, namely a ban on entering their territory as well as any transaction within the American financial system.
This is, essentially, a reaction to ICC investigations targeting Israel, an ally of Washington. In 2024, the Court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in connection with the war in the Gaza Strip.
With AFP
