The US government under President Donald Trump today imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC). This draconian measure is part of growing repression against the Court and human rights organizations, and thus constitutes an attack on universal criminal justice. Most recently, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio threatened to dismantle the Court.
Germany and the other States Parties must stand united in defending the Court – now more than ever. Far more is at stake than the independence of a court. The ICC is one of the few courts capable of holding individuals accountable for violations of international criminal law. The question at stake is: will international law continue to prevail – or will the law of the strongest?
“Against the backdrop of the 20th century’s history of violence, the idea of a universal system of international criminal law emerged in response to genocide and crimes against humanity: even the most powerful should be held personally accountable for the gravest international crimes. Those who seek to destroy international criminal justice today are paving the way for violence. Instead of allowing itself to be blackmailed by Trump and capitulating to his imperial power politics, the EU – and the German government above all – must stand united behind the ICC. Eighty years after the Nuremberg trials, the mandate is more relevant than ever: the law must apply even when upholding it comes at a political cost,” says Andreas Schüller, Co-Director of ECCHR’s International Crimes and Accountability Programme.
The German government and the other States Parties must now use all means at their disposal to protect the Court and safeguard its work. They should immediately adopt national and regional blocking statutes prohibiting compliance with US sanctions, thereby protecting companies and individuals from their effects. They must also urgently establish financial systems independent of the US dollar and develop digital infrastructure that does not depend on US companies. Anyone committed to protecting international law must defend the Court now.
Where national justice systems fail, the ICC investigates and prosecutes the gravest international crimes. This inevitably brings it into conflict with powerful states and political interests. Through its attacks on the Court, the US administration is seeking to undermine the international legal order and the independence of the judiciary. The aim is to obstruct investigations into US allies or US nationals and thereby prevent criminal accountability for potential violations of international law. That Trump is declaring war on the Court is not a sign of its weakness, but of its strength. It shows that the ICC’s work is having an impact – precisely because the Court can hold the powerful to account.
Since taking office, Donald Trump has intensified his attacks on the ICC: he has imposed sanctions on nine ICC judges and senior prosecutors, as well as on UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese and the Palestinian human rights organisations and close ECCHR partners PCHR, Al-Haq and Al Mezan. Most recently, he has increased pressure on states cooperating with the Court.
Ultimately, the sanctions will be paid for by victims and survivors of serious international crimes – as well as by those who continue to advocate for international criminal justice despite personal risks and growing pressure. Standing with them is the imperative of the moment.
“The latest sanctions are perverse: the Trump administration is attempting to strangle one of the strongest accountability mechanisms for the gravest and most depraved atrocity crimes committed against victims with no other independent judicial recourse. If the US sanctions continue to go unchallenged, they will further unilaterally undermine our collective commitments to human rights, an international rules-based system, and the global rule of law,“ says Joel Butuyan, legal counsel for victims in the ongoing ICC proceedings against former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.
