ALBAWABA - Trump’s administration has stated that it wants to “systematically dismantle” the International Criminal Court, citing that it was a threat to 'U.S. Sovereignty’.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is the top body responsible for persecuting the world’s biggest criminals, it has put out arrest warrants for crimes against humanity against Vladimir Putin for Russian actions in Ukraine, and more prominently, Benjamin Netanyahu for Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Consequently, as Trump is Netanyahu’s dear friend, the former’s government is pushing for the systematic dismantlement of the organization; further straining and polarizing relationships between the U.S. and Europe - who have strongly condemned this move.
An EU spokesperson said on Tuesday: “We stand firm in our support for the international criminal court (ICC). Attacks or threats against the court, elected officials, personnel or those cooperating with the court are simply not acceptable.”
Adding that, “the ICC does not target sovereign states, nor does it constitute a threat to their sovereignty. (It) exercises jurisdiction over individuals, perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community”.
The U.S. seems undeterred despite the EU’s protests, as Trump’s government has gone ahead and put sanctions on 11 court officials including the chief prosecutor and eight judges - banning them all from the U.S. as well as cancelling their credit cards and Google and Meta accounts.
In a dramatic statement on Monday, Marco Rubio said that the ICC “threatens every aspect of our political and legal system” as the U.S. state department stated that the move against the international court would involve a ‘wide range of options’ such as the aforementioned sanctions used to pressure countries to withdraw from the court.
Kenneth Roth, the former executive director of Human Rights Watch said: “Trump wants to be able to commit war crimes on the territory of countries that have accepted the court’s jurisdiction – that’s what this is about.”
