US President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court, the US Department of Treasury confirmed on Thursday.
Additionally, ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan has been added to OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, the US Treasury said.
The move by Trump comes after US Senate Democrats blocked a Republican-led effort to sanction the ICC in protest at its arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister over Israel’s campaign in Gaza.
“The ICC has no jurisdiction over the United States or Israel, as neither country is a party to the Rome Statute or a member of the ICC,” the Executive Order signed by Trump said. “Neither country has ever recognized the ICC’s jurisdiction, and both nations are thriving democracies with militaries that strictly adhere to the laws of war.”
According to the order, the US “will impose tangible and significant consequences on those responsible for the ICC’s transgressions, some of which may include the blocking of property and assets, as well as the suspension of entry into the United States of ICC officials, employees, and agents, as well as their immediate family members.”
Countries condemn US-issued sanctions
On Friday, dozens of countries warned that Trump’s targeting of the ICC with sanctions could “increase the risk of impunity for the most serious crimes and threaten to erode the international rule of law,” Reuters reported.
“Sanctions would severely undermine all situations currently under investigation as the Court may have to close its field offices,” the 79 countries – who make up about two-thirds of the court’s members – said in a statement.
This article was originally published at www.jpost.com
