US lifts Donald Trump’s controversial sanctions on International Criminal Court prosecutor
- The measures had been imposed in response to Fatou Bensouda’s investigation into whether American forces committed war crimes in Afghanistan
- Secretary of State Blinken, however, says the US continues ‘to disagree strongly with the ICC’s actions’
The move, announced by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, lifts the sanctions imposed on Bensouda over her investigation into whether American forces committed war crimes in Afghanistan.
It also removes Phakiso Mochochoko, head of the ICC’s Jurisdiction, Complementarity and Cooperation Division, from the Specially Designated Nationals list.
In a statement, Blinken said the State Department had also terminated a separate 2019 policy on visa restrictions on certain ICC personnel and added: “These decisions reflect our assessment that the measures adopted were inappropriate and ineffective.”
Blinken said Washington was taking the step even though it continued “to disagree strongly with the ICC’s actions relating to the Afghanistan and Palestinian situations” and to object to ICC “efforts to assert jurisdiction over personnel of non-States Parties such as the United States and Israel”.
“We believe, however, that our concerns about these cases would be better addressed through engagement with all stakeholders in the ICC process rather than through the imposition of sanctions,” his statement said.
Blinken said Washington was encouraged that a broad range of reforms were being considered to help the ICC “prioritise its resources and to achieve its core mission of serving as a court of last resort in punishing and deterring atrocity crimes”.
Israel’s Netanyahu slams ICC ruling paving way for war crimes investigations
The Trump administration last year accused The Hague-based ICC of infringing on US national sovereignty when it authorised an investigation into war crimes committed by Afghan forces, the Taliban or US troops.
It targeted court staff, including Bensouda, in September with asset freezes and travel bans for investigating American citizens without US consent. The United States is not a member of the court.
The ICC said the sanctions were an attack on international justice and the rule of law.
Then US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also opposed an investigation launched in 2019 into alleged war crimes in the Palestinian Territories, including by Israeli forces.
