International Criminal Court condemns US economic sanctions

The Hague. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has condemned the economic sanctions imposed by the US today September 3, on the Court’s Prosecutor and a member of her Office.
The court says the new measures, announced pursuant to the US Executive Order 13928 dated 11 June 2020, are attempts to interfere with the Court’s judicial and prosecutorial independence and crucial work to address grave crimes of concern to the international community as mandated under the ICC Rome Statute.
“These coercive acts, directed at an international judicial institution and its civil servants, are unprecedented and constitute serious attacks against the Court, the Rome Statute system of international criminal justice, and the rule of law more generally,” reads a statement issued by the ICC.
The statement further adds: ‘The Court continues to stand firmly by its personnel and its mission of fighting impunity for the world’s most serious crimes under international law, independently and impartially, in accordance with its mandate. In doing so, the Court benefits from the strong support and commitment of two thirds of the world’s States which are parties to the Rome Statute.’
President Trump issued an executive order on June 11, 2020, authorizing sanctions, in part, against any foreign person found to be acting in support of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor’s investigation of US personnel.
The decision came three months after the ICC Prosecutor’s opening of an investigation into alleged war crimes related to the Afghanistan conflict, which provoked condemnation and concern from the United States.