The International Criminal Court (ICC), headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, issued a statement on the 18th condemning the new round of sanctions launched by the United States against the ICC, emphasizing that this move by the US is a blatant attack on an independent judicial institution and undermines the principles of the rule of law.
According to reports from China News Service, the statement said that on the 18th, the US government announced sanctions on two ICC judges. So far, a total of 11 ICC officials have been sanctioned by the US. The ICC expressed condemnation and strong opposition to these sanctions.
The statement stressed that the ICC was established under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and operates under the mandate of 125 States Parties. The implementation of sanctions by the United States against the ICC is a blatant attack on an independent and impartial judicial institution, undermines the principles of the rule of law, and puts the international legal order at risk.
In May last year, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan applied for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Gallant, and three Hamas leaders. In November last year, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant.
Currently, both the United States and Israel do not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC. In February this year, US President Trump signed an executive order sanctioning the ICC, after which Karim Khan was included in the US sanctions list. In June and August this year, the US launched two more rounds of sanctions, sanctioning a total of six ICC judges and two deputy prosecutors.