EU Calls on Trump Administration to End Sanctions On International Criminal Court

On Thursday, the European Union urged the United States to revoke sanctions it recently placed on officials at the International Criminal Court. The Trump Administration’s sanctions were, according to the EU, “unacceptable and unprecedented.”

Sanctions

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is a global tribunal based in the Hague, Netherlands. Though the US is not a party to the ICC, nor does it recognize its authority. The organization hasn’t stopped investigating potential war crimes it suspects the US military committed in Afghanistan.

As a result, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced sanctions against two leaders of the investigation: ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, and Phakiso Mochochoko, who heads the ICC’s Jurisdiction Division.

This all started when President Trump signed an executive order authorizing sanctions and visa restrictions against any ICC employee investigating US troops. That led to Pompeo calling the ICC “corrupt” and “grossly ineffective,” while deeming their investigation an “ideological crusade against American service members.”

EU Members Respond

In response, members of the European Union criticized the sanctions and asked the US to reverse course.

The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called the sanctions “unacceptable and unprecedented measures that attempt to obstruct the Court’s investigation and judicial proceedings.”

“The ICC must be able to work independently and impartially, free from outside interference,” Borrell added. “The United States should reconsider its position and reverse the measures it has taken. Impunity must never be an option.”

Meanwhile, French officials echoed the demand for the US to end sanctions, calling the measures “a serious attack.” French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a statement that his country “calls on the United States to withdraw these measures.”

Source: https://werax.com/eu-calls-on-trump-administration-to-end-sanctions-on-international-criminal-court/