Brussels: The International Criminal Court on Friday hit back after US President Donald Trump slapped sanctions on the institution, vowing it would continue to provide “justice and hope” around the world.
\n“The ICC condemns the issuance by the US of an Executive Order seeking to impose sanctions on its officials and harm its independent and impartial judicial work,” the court said in a statement.
\n“The Court stands firmly by its personnel and pledges to continue providing justice and hope to millions of innocent victims of atrocities across the world,” added the court, based in The Hague.
\nAttacking the ICC for what he said were “illegitimate and baseless” investigations targeting America and its ally Israel, Trump hit the court with sanctions on Thursday.
\nHe ordered asset freezes and travel bans against ICC officials, employees and their family members, along with anyone deemed to have helped the court’s investigations.
\nThe names of the individuals were not immediately released, but previous US sanctions under Trump had targeted the court’s prosecutor.
\n“We call on our 125 States Parties, civil society and all nations of the world to stand united for justice and fundamental human rights,” the ICC statement concluded.<\/p>\n
The EU on Friday warned sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) threaten its independence and the wider judicial system, after US President Donald Trump punished the court over its probes into America and Israel.
\nTrump signed an executive order on Thursday saying the court in The Hague had \u201cabused its power\u201d by issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom he held talks earlier this week.
\n\u201cSanctioning the ICC threatens the Court\u2019s independence and undermines the international criminal justice system as a whole,\u201d Antonio Costa, who heads the European Council representing the EU\u2019s 27 member states, wrote on X.
\nThe European Commission separately expressed \u201cregret\u201d regarding Trump\u2019s sanctions, stressing the ICC\u2019s \u201ckey importance in upholding international criminal justice and the fight against impunity.\u201d
\nThe executive order risks \u201caffecting ongoing investigations and proceedings, including as regards Ukraine, impacting years of efforts to ensure accountability around the world,\u201d said a commission spokesman.
\n\u201cThe EU will be monitoring the implications of the executive order and will assess possible further steps,\u201d added the spokesman for the bloc\u2019s executive.
\nTrump\u2019s order said the tribunal had engaged in \u201cillegitimate and baseless actions\u201d targeting the US and its ally Israel, referring to probes into alleged war crimes by US service members in Afghanistan and Israeli troops in Gaza.
\nIt imposed asset freezes and travel bans against ICC officials, employees and their family members, along with anyone deemed to have helped the court\u2019s investigations.
\nThe names of the individuals were not immediately released, but previous US sanctions under Trump had targeted the court\u2019s prosecutor.
\nNeither the United States nor Israel are members of the court.
\nEU Council president Costa met with the president of the ICC, judge Tomoko Akane, on Thursday to assure her of the EU\u2019s support.
\n\u201cThe ICC plays an essential role in delivering justice to the victims of some of the world\u2019s most horrific crimes,\u201d he wrote on social media.
\n\u201cIndependence and impartiality are crucial characteristics of the Court\u2019s work.\u201d
\nDuring their meeting, Costa and Akane discussed possible ways the bloc could strengthen its support to the institution, an EU official said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Brussels: The International Criminal Court on Friday hit back after US President Donald Trump slapped sanctions on the institution, vowing it would continue to provide “justice and hope” around the world. “The ICC condemns the issuance by the US of an Executive Order seeking to impose sanctions on its officials and harm its independent and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":460089,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-460074","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n