With its sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC) as an institution, the US Administration seeks to destroy the Court and extinguish any prospect of justice for perpetrators of grave crimes under international law, Amnesty International said today. States must take every appropriate measure to resist this attack and actively protect the Court.
“President Trump’s sanctions are designed to isolate and ultimately destroy the International Criminal Court. This existential attack must fail. States must take concrete action to resist the imposition of these measures and actively protect the Court,” said Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns.
“State timidity, appeasement and unwillingness to confront attacks on international justice have emboldened those seeking to undermine it. This watershed moment demands courage, solidarity, and action. The fight for the ICC is a key battleground between those who insist that law must bend to power and that impunity for war criminals and genocidaires must be guaranteed, and those fighting to preserve accountability, equality before the law and justice for victims. The future of the ICC, and of international justice itself, will depend on whether governments and people are willing to defend it.
“The International Criminal Court represents one of the most important achievements of the post-war international order. It embodies a simple but vital promise: that those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes can be held accountable regardless of their power, position or nationality. The Court is not perfect, but it constitutes a major, and sometimes only path toward delivering truth, justice and reparations.
“In recent years the ICC has issued arrest warrants against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte will go on trial next month.
“The ICC has 125 member states. They must take concrete actions to defend the Court. This includes political and financial support, enacting national and regional ‘blocking statutes’ to ensure that the ICC can continue to access essential services and systems, resisting attempts to obstruct its work and fully cooperating with its investigations and arrest warrants.
“A final line in the sand has been crossed. This is an attack on the very possibility of holding those responsible for the gravest crimes accountable under international law, no matter how powerful they may be. What is at stake is not only the future of the Court, but the future of international justice itself. That line must now be redrawn and defended by those who believe in human rights, international law and equal justice for all.
“Humanity must win.”
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