Capitals, Aug. 20 (SANA) The International Criminal Court (ICC) and United Nations rejected new U.S. sanctions on senior court officials, warning they threaten the rule of law and efforts to secure justice for victims.
In an August 19 statement, the ICC condemned sanctions against its president, Japanese Judge Tomoko Akane, and Senegalese Abdoulaye Seye, Senior Trial Lawyer at the Office of the Prosecutor, calling them a “flagrant attack” on the independence of an impartial judicial institution.
The court said the United States is now sanctioning nine of its 18 judges, both deputy prosecutors, a former prosecutor and one staff member.
“When judicial actors are threatened for applying the law, it is the international legal order itself that is placed at risk,” the ICC said, adding that coercive measures also affect victims’ ability to seek justice.
The court said it remained undeterred and would continue its mandate independently and impartially under the Rome Statute, standing behind its personnel and victims of “unimaginable atrocities.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed serious concern over the sanctions. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the UN considers the ICC “a key pillar of international criminal justice.”
The UN Human Rights Office called for the “unacceptable new sanctions” to be lifted, while UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urged states to defend institutions protecting human rights and the rule of law.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions Tuesday against Akane and Seye over their involvement in proceedings against officials whose governments have not accepted the court’s jurisdiction.
The United States, which is not a party to the Rome Statute, has previously sanctioned ICC officials and last month accused the court of “threatening” Americans and called on its partners to withdraw from it.
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