|
Listen to article
|
Citing concerns over sovereignty and fairness, President Donald Trump has authorized sanctions against the International Criminal Court, labeling its recent investigations into U.S. and Israeli conduct as “biased and unjustified.”
The executive order underscores the administration’s broader rejection of international legal bodies perceived as hostile to American foreign policy.
The executive order authorizes punitive measures, including financial and travel restrictions, against those involved in ICC cases targeting the U.S. or its allies. Family members of affected individuals may also face repercussions, amplifying pressure on potential collaborators.
The timing of Trump’s decision coincided with a visit from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington. The executive order followed the ICC’s controversial issuance of an arrest warrant for Netanyahu last November, accusing him of war crimes in Gaza—charges Israel has dismissed as baseless. The court also issued a separate warrant for a high-ranking Hamas commander.
The White House fact sheet, released Thursday, accused the ICC of drawing an unjust parallel between Hamas and Israel by announcing their arrest warrants together. The statement denounced the court’s move as a “shameful moral equivalency,” reinforcing Washington’s rejection of what it sees as a flawed and politically motivated decision.
Trump’s executive order said the ICC’s recent actions “set a dangerous precedent” that endangered Americans by exposing them to “harassment, abuse and possible arrest”.
“This malign conduct in turn threatens to infringe upon the sovereignty of the United States and undermines the critical national security and foreign policy work of the United States government and our allies, including Israel,” the order said.
The US is not a member of the ICC and has repeatedly rejected any jurisdiction by the body over American officials or citizens. The White House accused the ICC of placing constraints on Israel’s right to self-defence, while ignoring Iran and anti-Israel groups.
In his first term in office, Trump imposed sanctions on ICC officials who were investigating whether US forces had committed war crimes in Afghanistan. Those sanctions were lifted by President Joe Biden’s administration.
Read also: Trump Hits ICC with Sanctions, Questions Its Legitimacy
Last month, the US House of Representatives voted to sanction the ICC, but the bill foundered in the Senate. The ICC was founded in 2002 – in the wake of the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the Rwandan genocide – to investigate alleged atrocities.
Over 120 countries have ratified the Rome Statute – which established the ICC – while another 34 have signed and may ratify in the future. Neither the US nor Israel is party to the Rome Statute. The ICC is a court of last resort and is meant to intervene only when national authorities cannot or will not prosecute.
Trumps executive order said that “both nations [the US and Israel] are thriving democracies with militaries that strictly adhere to the laws of war”.
