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The HAGUE
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has condemned the economic sanctions imposed by the US on the Court’s prosecutor on Thursday.
The new measures, announced pursuant to the US Executive Order 13928 dated 11 June 2020, are another attempt 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, said the ICC in a press statement.
“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,” said the statement.
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.
Meanwhile in a separate statement, Assembly of States Parties (ASP) President, O-Gon Kwon rejected the US measures against ICC.
He said, “I strongly reject such unprecedented and unacceptable measures against a treaty-based international organization. They only serve to weaken our common endeavour to fight impunity for mass atrocities.”
He said the ICC is an independent and impartial judicial institution. It operates in strict adherence to the provisions of the Rome Statute. The ICC is complementary to national jurisdictions and thus recognizes the primary jurisdiction of States themselves. This is the cornerstone of the Statute, he further said.
Further, the ASP and the ICC have together embarked on a wide-ranging review process to strengthen the Rome Statute system and improve the Court’s performance and efficiency. “We stand by our Court and its staff as well as those cooperating with it in implementing its judicial mandate,” he said.
He said, “A meeting of the Bureau of the Assembly will take place shortly to consider the measures imposed by the United States and ways to give effect to our unstinting support for the ICC. I call upon the States Parties and all the stakeholders in the Rome Statute system to reiterate once again our unwavering commitment to uphold and defend the principles and values enshrined in the Statute and to preserve its integrity undeterred by any measures and threats against the ICC and its officials, staff and their families.”
