My Take | The United States believes it is above international law

Washington is conducting political warfare against such global bodies as the International Criminal Court, the World Health Organisation and the World Trade Organisation

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The Washington Monument and the US Capitol in Washington. Photo: AP

Published: 9:02pm, 6 Sep 2020Updated: 10:17pm, 6 Sep 2020

Being sanctioned by Washington may be extremely inconvenient for your personal finance, but it’s becoming a badge of honour for some of those so designated.

You would be joining the ranks of such international fighters for justice as Fatou Bensouda, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, and Phakiso Mochochoko, the head of the court’s jurisdiction, complementarity and cooperation division.

Why are they and their staff being sanctioned? Corruption? Terrorism? No, they are being targeted because they have been investigating possible war crimes committed by American troops.

Washington specifically targets Bensouda because she was given the go-ahead by the court in March to proceed with a formal probe after having been collecting evidence for more than a decade in Afghanistan.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo justified the move last week by saying “the ICC continues to target Americans” and describing the international court as a “thoroughly broken and corrupted institution”.

No Western leaders have ever accused the court as such, though plenty of those who stand accused of war crimes and genocide have questioned its legitimacy and jurisdiction. Perhaps Mr Pompeo was projecting and merely describing his own government.