In the wave of executive orders that have been passed since Donald Trump took office, one of the latest ones caught the global community’s attention on February 6 for a different reason: the ICC has been targeted by the US with sanctions. Mr. Trump has imposed sanctions on the Court due to its “illegitimate and baseless actions” against the United States and its allies, most notably Israel. The sanctions include possible asset freezes against staff and their family members if determined that they are involved in any process that harms the US or its allies.
The order comes as a response to the ICC’s arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was accused of war crimes alongside Yoav Gallant, Israel’s former defense minister. According to Trump, these warrants “set a dangerous precedent” and he claims that they are an abuse of power. The order followed the official meeting held in the White House with Netanyahu just a day earlier. Neither the US nor Israel are member states of the institution, and that has led to Trump stating that the Court must respect the decisions of countries that do not subject their personnel to its jurisdiction. According to him, both countries are “thriving democracies with militaries that strictly adhere to the laws of war”.
The arrest warrants for the Israeli pair under the charge of crimes against humanity and war crimes marked the first time a western-backed leader was targeted by the Court. They obliged member states to arrest either once they crossed their borders, but there was no way to enforce the ruling. Simultaneously, the ICC issued another one for then-Hamas leader Mohammed Deif for the same reasons. The White House criticized the move, arguing that it created a “shameful moral equivalency” in doing so. According to the Court, there were “reasonable grounds” to believe Netanyahu and Gallant bore “criminal responsibility” for crimes during the Gaza conflict such as starvation, murder, persecution, and others.
This is not Donald Trump’s first encounter with the ICC, as he authorized asset freezes and travel bans for its officials in 2020 following their investigation of US actions in Afghanistan. The sanctions included former chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda.
The ICC has 125 members, but neither the US nor Israel belong to it. Source: Human Rights Watch.
Officials from all around the world have harshly condemned the order, including the ICC itself. It published an official statement on its website: “The ICC condemns the issuance by the US of an Executive Order seeking to impose sanctions on its officials and harm its independent and impartial judicial work”. The court asked for solidarity from all its member states at this time, calling for them to “stand united for justice and fundamental human rights”. Many of them have expressed “unwavering support”, including the UK, Germany, and France which all described the ICC as a “vital pillar of the international justice system”. This support was put to paper in a joint statement issued on February 7th with 79 signatories. Notably, some major nations, such as Australia, Hungary, Italy, and the Czech Republic, were absent.
The Court has taken some measures to protect its employees from possible effects by paying salaries three months in advance. It is still unclear how the sanctions would impact those who are subject to them, but ICC officials have expressed concern about the potential threat to its existence. Sources told the Guardian that individual-level sanctions would be manageable, but measures taken against the entire institution would drive it towards a potentially catastrophic situation. The order implied that the targets of the sanctions were already determined, but not publicly announced. At the time of writing, it has only been confirmed that Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan is on the list.
Head Prosecutor named at the top of the list of those targeted. Source: Reuters.
Most of the world has united against Donald Trump’s order. Heads of state everywhere have rallied behind the ICC, with Ursula von der Leyen publicly stating that “Europe will always stand for justice and the respect of international law”. The ICC’s inaugural chief prosecutor has placed responsibility on the state parties to prevent Mr. Trump from becoming the “global president”. Likewise, the United Nations called for the order to be reversed. The bridge across the pond seems to be breaking down, but the wider international community stands together on the other side.
Featured image: Trump meeting with Netanyahu before the order was signed, source: The New York Times.
