HAGUE – The international criminal court (ICC) will continue to investigatewar crimes “undeterred” by the Trump administration’s threat of sanctionsagainst its judges, the Hague-based organisation has declared.
Responding to a firebrand speech by the US national security adviser, JohnBolton, the United Nations-backed court said it would not be intimidated ordissuaded from its global mission.
Bolton’s attack, delivered in Washington on Monday, opens a fresh front inthe war between the doctrine of American exceptionalism and theUN-supported, international legal order.
If the ICC proceeds with launching an investigation into alleged war crimescommitted by US military and intelligence staff during the war inAfghanistan or pursues any investigation into Israel or other US allies,Bolton warned, the US would impose sanctions against the court and, wherepossible, prosecute its officials.
In a short statement, the ICC said: “The court was established andconstituted under the Rome statute, the court’s founding treaty – to which123 countries from all regions of the world are party and have pledgedtheir support through ratification – as an instrument to ensureaccountability for crimes that shock the conscience of humanity. The courtis an independent and impartial judicial institution.
“The court’s jurisdiction is subject to the primary jurisdiction of statesthemselves to investigate and prosecute allegations of those crimes andbring justice to the affected communities. It is only when the statesconcerned fail to do so at all or genuinely that the ICC will exercisejurisdiction.
“The ICC, as a court of law, will continue to do its work undeterred, inaccordance with those principles and the overarching idea of the rule oflaw.”
Bolton’s address alarmed many legal experts. Mark Ellis, the executivedirector of the London-based International Bar Association, said: “Theextraordinary attack launched by … Bolton against the ICC is not only indirect contradiction to the principle of accountability for war crimes, butreinforces the Trump administration’s repugnant policy of exceptionalism,where it demands adherence to international law by all countries, exceptitself.
“Bolton’s added bellicose language that ICC judges and prosecutors facepossible prosecution in the US is a distressing extension of the Trumpadministration’s attack on the judiciary – both domestic and nowinternational.
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“The ICC was created for the noble purpose of ending impunity forperpetrators of the most heinous crimes, including genocide, war crimes andcrimes against humanity, when nations are unwilling or unable to prosecute.”
Jamil Dakwar, the director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s humanrights programme, said: “The Trump administration’s threat to criminallyprosecute and sanction international criminal court judges and prosecutorsis straight out of an authoritarian playbook.
“The unprecedented threat comes as US officials face, for the first time,the spectre of full criminal investigation by the court for possible warcrimes and crimes against humanity in Afghanistan, which is an ICC member.This misguided and harmful policy will only further isolate the UnitedStates from its closest allies and give solace to war criminals andauthoritarian regimes seeking to evade international accountability.”
The head of Afghanistan’s human right’s commission, Sima Samar, said thatestablishing the truth about war crimes allegations in her country wasimportant. “It’s very unfortunate because delivering justice to victimswill help to facilitate the peace process in Afghanistan,” she said.“Justice is not a luxury. It is a basic human right.”
The Palestinian Authority said it would not abandon its principles afterthe US decision to close the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s (PLO)office in Washington in retaliation for it calling for an ICC investigationinto Israel’s alleged war crimes.
Nabil Abu Rudeina, the spokesman for the Palestinian president, MahmoudAbbas, said the authority would maintain its commitment to the resolutionsof international legitimacy.
