The executive order signed by Donald Trump targets ICC officials working on investigations involving the US and its allies such as Israel.
Donald Trump's decision impose sanctions to the International Criminal Court (ICC) threatens the search for justice in Ukraine, the European Commission has warned and expressed its full support for the independence and impartiality of the tribunal.
The ICC has been investigating allegations of war crimes in Ukraine since March 2022 and has issued arrest warrants for six high-ranking Kremlin officials, including President Vladimir Putin, who is accused of ordering the illegal deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia.
Imposing sanctions on ICC officials could make these investigations more difficult by making it harder for them to travel around the world and to access the funds they need.
"The ICC guarantees accountability for international crimes and gives a voice to victims around the world. They must be free to continue the fight against global impunity," She told President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.
A spokesman for the European Commission expressed "regret" over Trump's executive order and said "poses a serious challenge to the work of the ICC, with the risk of affecting ongoing investigations and proceedings, including those relating to Ukraine, which will have implications for multi-year efforts to ensure accountability worldwide".
The commission will monitor the "implications" of Trump's decision and "assess possible next steps", the spokesman added, without giving further details.
In a similar vein, the President of the European Council António Costa. "Sanctions against the ICC threaten its independence and undermine the international criminal justice system as a whole," He told on Friday.
The day before, Costa met with Judge Tomoko Akane, the current ICC president, in Brussels and praised the institution for playing "a vital role in securing justice for the victims of some of the world's most horrific crimes".
Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkampwhose country hosts the ICC in The Hague, also expressed regret at the White House's decision. "The work of the court is essential in the fight against impunity. Our country has a good reputation and responsibility as a host country of important international legal institutions. The Netherlands actively contributes to strengthening the international legal order and multilateral cooperation and will fulfil in good faith its binding obligations in the field of international law and treaties," by on the X network.
In a statement condemning Trump's executive order, The ICC called on 125 States Parties to the Rome Statute to "stand united for justice and fundamental human rights".
"The ICC condemns the issuance of an executive order by the US aimed at imposing sanctions on its officials and undermining its independent and impartial judiciary. The Court stands firmly behind its staff and pledges to continue to provide justice and hope to millions of innocent victims of atrocities around the world in all situations brought before it. We call on our 125 States Parties, civil society and all peoples of the world to stand united for justice and fundamental human rights," said the ICC.
The executive order signed by President Trump on Thursday accuses the ICC of engaging in "illegitimate and unwarranted actions against America and our close ally Israel" and setting a "dangerous precedent," an allusion to the court's ongoing investigation into possible war crimes in the Gaza Strip.
Trump's executive order allows his administration to impose asset freezes and travel bans on ICC officials and their relatives working on investigations involving the US, US citizens or US allies.
The order describes these investigations as "misconduct" that poses "an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States."
The sanctions come in the wake of Netanyahu's visit to the White House, during which Trump announced a plan to "take over" Gaza, displacing 1.8 million Palestinians and turning the devastated enclave into a "Middle Eastern Riviera". This shocking proposal met with immediate and strong international condemnation.
euronews/ gnews- RoZ
PHOTO - ICC
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