THE HAGUE, Netherlands- Amnesty International has called on governments to defend the International Criminal Court (ICC) after the United States imposed sanctions on the court as an institution, escalating President Donald Trump’s campaign against the tribunal.
Amnesty said states should resist the sanctions and protect the court’s ability to investigate and prosecute serious international crimes.
Its recommendations include providing political and financial support, adopting laws to shield the ICC from the measures, and continuing to cooperate with its investigations and arrest warrants.
The US move marks an expansion of sanctions previously imposed on ICC officials.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington would ban transactions with the court, arguing that the ICC was asserting jurisdiction over Americans.
The United States is not a member of the court.
Amnesty warned that the sanctions could hinder the ICC’s operations and undermine efforts to hold individuals accountable for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The court has 125 member states, according to the organisation.
The organisation’s senior director for research, policy, advocacy and campaigns, Erika Guevara Rosas, said governments must take practical steps to protect the court and those who work with it.
She warned that the court’s future would depend on whether governments and the public were willing to defend it.
ICC rejects US move
The ICC has also rejected the sanctions, saying they threaten its independence and the international legal order.
The court urged its member states to support its continued work.
The Trump administration says the court has acted beyond its authority.
In his statement announcing the sanctions, Rubio said Washington expected its allies to press the ICC to change course.
He said the United States could expand its campaign if diplomatic efforts failed.
The ICC was established to prosecute individuals accused of the gravest international crimes when national courts are unable or unwilling to act.
Amnesty cited the court’s arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as the upcoming trial of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, as examples of its work.
