The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has slammed the recent US government decision to impose sanctions on four judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) as “deeply corrosive” to the principles of good governance and the impartial administration of justice.
Türk was responding to an announcement by Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, on Thursday, imposing sanctions on ICC judges overseeing cases involving US war crimes in Afghanistan and ICC arrest warrants issued against Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Minister of Military Affairs Yoav Gallant.
“I am profoundly disturbed by the decision of the Government of the United States of America to sanction judges of the International Criminal Court – specifically four women judges, from Benin, Peru, Slovenia, and Uganda – who had been part of rulings in the situations in Afghanistan or in the State of Palestine,” said Türk.
He called for the prompt reconsideration and withdrawal of the measures which he said are “deeply corrosive of good governance and the due administration of justice.”
The sanctions, the statement continues, attack the judges for performing their judicial functions, an act which, he said, runs “directly counter to respect for the rule of law and the equal protection of the law – values for which the US has long stood.”
The statement described the sanctions as “a clear attempt to undermine the independence of an international judicial institution which operates under the mandate from 125 States Parties from all corners of the globe.”
The statement warned that the US sanctions “risk undermining global efforts to ensure accountability for the gravest crimes of concern to the international community and erode the shared commitment to the rule of law, the fight against impunity, and the preservation of a rules-based international order.”
EU backs ICC judges
Following the US move to impose sanctions on four ICC judges, the European Union voiced strong support for the ICC on Friday.
Slovenia, an EU member state, announced plans to urge Brussels to leverage its power to prevent the enforcement of these sanctions within Europe.
“The ICC holds perpetrators of the world’s gravest crimes to account and gives victims a voice. It must be free to act without pressure,” European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said on social media platform X.
Antonio Costa, president of the European Council, which represents national governments of the 27 member states, called the court a “cornerstone of international justice” and said its independence and integrity must be protected.
Since Donald Trump’s return to office in January, the US has issued restrictions against ICC officials on multiple occasions.
He has issued a broad executive order threatening to sanction anyone who cooperates with an ICC investigation, thus dissuading even witnesses from coming forward.
The court’s governing body, which represents its 125 member states, on Friday condemned the US government’s decision to retaliate against judges.
“These … are regrettable attempts to impede the Court and its personnel in the exercise of their independent judicial functions,” the Presidency of the Assembly of States Parties said.
