The United States has lifted the sanctions that Donald Trump imposed on the International Criminal Court

Joe Biden’s US government reported on Friday that it had lifted sanctions imposed by former President Donald Trump’s administration on the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor, calling for a more collaborative relationship.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo there was imposed sanctions and denied visas to outgoing ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda after opening an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by US military personnel in Afghanistan.

The Hague-based tribunal angered the United States again by opening an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by Israel in the Palestinian territories, an American ally who rejects the authority of the ICC.

Pompeo’s successor, Antony Blinken, he said that The United States remains “in complete disagreement” with the measures taken by the ICC.

“However, we believe that our concerns about these cases would be better addressed by involving all stakeholders in the ICC process rather than imposing sanctions “Blinken said in a statement.

He noted that the sanctions against Bensouda and the head of the Competence, Complementarity and Cooperation Division of the prosecution, Phakiso Mochochoko, imposed in September 2020, as well as several visa restrictions decided in 2019 against ICC staff members were dismissed. .

The Gambian-born prosecutor will step down in June and will be replaced by British human rights lawyer Karim Khan.

The ICC, for its part, welcomed the “new phase” of relations with the United States after the lifting of the sanctions. “I am convinced that this decision will lead to a new phase in our common fight against impunity for war crimes.”, said Silvia Fernandez de Gurmendi, director of the Association of States Parties to the Court.

The United States signed but did not ratify the 1998 Rome Statute which gave birth to the ICC.

Cancel Trump’s measures

The lifting of sanctions is part of the early campaign of the Biden administration to dissolve the Trump-era measures it deems flawed.

On March 30, Blinken officially eliminated the maneuver promoted by his predecessor so that the defense of human rights abroad by the United States is limited to causes favored by the conservatives, such as religious freedom and property issues, while ignoring LGBTQ and reproductive rights.

Blinken said a report prepared for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attempting to reduce the number of priority freedoms in U.S. foreign policy was “imbalance”, did not reflect the policies of President Joe Biden’s administration and will not be used to guide them. The Pompeo Commission report on inalienable rights has been severely criticized by human rights groups.

Secretary of State Blinken also reversed a decision by the Trump administration to remove reproductive rights sections from the State Department’s annual reports on human rights in other countries. “Women’s rights – including sexual and reproductive rights – are human rights”, he stated.

Human rights activists condemned the Pompeo commission report when it was released last year amid a huge fanfare from religious and conservative groups. The report was part of a larger plan by the Trump administration to restore the primacy of what some officials see as the values ​​of the country’s founders.

With information from AFP and AP

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