[ad_1]
Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently said the United States was reversing action taken by the Trump administration against the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The sanctions were imposed after the Trump administration was unable to convince the ICC to drop its investigations into possible war crimes in Afghanistan by US soldiers and in Gaza by Israeli soldiers.
Sanctions taken by the former administration included sanctions against ICC officials and visa restrictions on some ICC officials. Sanctions were imposed on the Chief Prosecutor of the ICC, Fatou Bensouda, and on the head of the Competence, Complements and Cooperation Division of the ICC, Phakiso Mochochoko. Bensouda’s US entry visa has been canceled.
AHRC welcomes this important step, this step in itself a sign of respect for international law and institutions.
In his statement regarding these measures canceling the sanctions, Secretary Blinken said: “ Our support for the rule of law, access to justice and accountability for mass atrocities are important national security interests of people. United States who are protected and put forward by engaging with the world to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. ”
AHRC echoes the sentiments expressed in the above excerpt. However, other parts of the statement cause us to pause and be deeply concerned and confused.
In his statement, Blinken added that the United States continued to “strongly disagree with the actions of the ICC regarding the situations in Afghanistan and Palestine.” He explained: “We maintain our longstanding objection to the Court’s efforts to assert jurisdiction over the personnel of non-party states. like the United States and Israel. We believe, however, that our concerns about these cases would be better addressed through the engagement of all stakeholders in the ICC process rather than through the imposition of sanctions. ”
And, more disturbingly, he added: “ We are encouraged that States parties to the Rome Statute are considering a wide range of reforms to help the Court prioritize its resources and fulfill its fundamental mission of serving as a tribunal of justice. last resort to punish and deter atrocious crimes. We believe that this reform is a worthwhile effort. ”
We are concerned that the Biden administration intends to reformulate the institution to achieve the same result that Mr. Trump attempted. This leads us to question the Biden administration’s declared respect for the rule of law, international institutions and human rights. We see that the Biden administration, like Trump’s, is trying to derail the ICC investigation.
“The ICC is the only way in the world to hold perpetrators of war crimes accountable when their own governments don’t and only when their own governments don’t hold them accountable,” said Imad Hamad, executive director of the AHRC . “Normally, democracies that respect human rights have no problem with the ICC and the ICC has no problem with them,” Hamad added. “The ICC is fair and objective and is not guided by a partisan, national or ideological agenda, we urge the Biden administration to reconsider,” Hamad concluded.
Source link
