The United States has imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), just hours after one of its former judges won the Nobel peace prize.
Navi Pillay headed the Rwanda genocide tribunal and, last
year, presided over a UN commission which accused Israel of genocide in Gaza.
Pillay, who is South African, is currently a judge on the
International Court of Justice in a case where Myanmar also stands accused of
genocide, was previously an ICC judge.
The ICC said Pillay’s award was of “particular significance”
given current “political attacks” on international law.
The US has long been critical of the ICC and has kicked
against its arrest warrants issued for Israeli officials including Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and a past investigation into actions of US
soldiers in Afghanistan.
The ICC investigates and, where warranted, tries individuals
charged with the gravest crimes of concern to the international community:
genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression.
Marco Rubio, US secretary of state, announced the sanctions
in a video statement on Friday.
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Rubio said President Donald Trump will never allow the ICC
to prosecute Americans.
“That is why, today, the United States is sanctioning the
International Criminal Court. We will ban transactions with this rogue
court, cutting off their resources and crippling its ability to operate,” Rubio said.
“Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the
ICC. We expect our allies, many of whom are part of the ICC and that rely on American servicemembers
for their defense, to rein in the court.”
The court has a 125-state membership including all European
Union (EU) countries and all members of the NATO alliance apart from the US and
Turkey.
Rubio said the sanctions were structured in a way to allow
negotiations and “present a solution to address our concerns”.
“If these efforts do not bear fruit, we will continue to
adjust accordingly,” he added.
US sanctions typically bar all US-based companies from any
work with a sanctioned
organisation, forcing banks to shut accounts, insurers
to end coverage, and software companies to halt cooperation.
But shortly after the sanctions were announced, the US
Treasury issued four general licences, which would allow some transactions for
ICC telecommunications, software and pension payments, and transactions linked
to ICC detainees.
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