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President Trump's national security advisor, John Bolton, has launched an attack on the International Criminal Court (ICC), a body mandated by most members of the international community to prosecute genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. humanity. In a speech to the Conservative Federalist Society on Monday, Bolton said Washington would "use every means necessary" to defeat the organization's influence.
The ICC was established in 2002 in response to a decade of human rights violations in countries such as Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. Supported by 123 countries, it was supposed to act as a "court of last resort" to intervene in case of failure of the country's legal systems. Since then, he has managed to convict several war criminals, even though critics have criticized the slowness of his bureaucracy and his inability to pursue crimes outside Africa.
Bolton added to these criticisms on Monday, his incitement apparently having been prompted by the court's readiness to launch an investigation into war crimes in Afghanistan. Last November, the chief prosecutor of the ICC asked the judges to authorize an investigation, which could include the study of the alleged torture of detainees by US military and intelligence agents. "Every day now," said Bolton, "the ICC could announce the start of a formal investigation against these American patriots." As a result, Washington was ready to take action, including banning judges from the "illegitimate court". country and sanction their funds in the US financial system.
It was not the first time Bolton had crossed the courtyard. Like many countries, the United States views the court as a challenge to their constitutional authority. The United States joined Israel, China, and Saudi Arabia in refusing to ratify the ICC's founding document in 2002, citing its "unacceptable consequences for our national sovereignty." Administration: John R. Bolton.
In the years that followed, he led the signing of about 100 bilateral agreements to prevent countries around the world from surrendering Americans to the ICC. This work, he said Monday, "remains one of my greatest achievements." never been tested – no American has been charged by the court, let alone convicted. But the murmurs of an investigation into war crimes in Afghanistan threaten to change that.
Although the United States is not a member of the ICC, Afghanistan is. As a result, crimes committed in its territory may lawfully be brought before the Court, regardless of the nationality of the author. "What we saw from Mr. Bolton on September 10 was a preemptive strike to intimidate the ICC," Human Rights Watch director of international justice Richard Dicker told TIME TIME.
Washington's resistance to the ICC is not new, but threats from a senior administration official are – not to mention that the country's refusal to cooperate could hamper other investigations, including war crimes. committed by the Taliban in Afghanistan. "Bolton has barely referred to the importance of reporting in a fair trial those responsible for the massacre of civilians, the use of rape as a weapon of war, ethnic cleansing as a practice", said Dicker. "The first victim is the prospect that the United States credibly asserts itself as a champion of justice."
But it seems that Bolton has a different victim. "The ICC," he said in his speech, "is already dead for us."
