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The United States has imposed sanctions on senior officials at the International Criminal Court (ICC), including Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused the court of “an illegal attempt to subjugate Americans to its jurisdiction.”
The Hague-based ICC is currently investigating whether US forces have committed war crimes in Afghanistan.
The U.S. has criticized the court since its foundation and is one of a dozen states that have not signed up.
Created by the UN treaty in 2002, the court investigates and brings to justice those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, intervening when national authorities cannot or will not take action.
- What is the International Criminal Court?
The treaty has been ratified by 123 countries, including the UK. But the U.S. – China, India and Russia have refused to join together, while some African countries have accused the body of improperly focusing on Africans.
What are restrictions?
President Donald Trump issued an executive order in June, prompting the U.S.C. Can block the assets of ICC employees and prevent them from entering the country.
Addressing reporters on Wednesday, Mr Pompeo said that under the order, the head of the jurisdiction, fulfillment and co-operation department, M.S. Bensouda and Fakiso Mochochoko will be allowed.
Dismissing the ICC as a “completely broken and corrupt institution”, he said “those who” continued to physically support those individuals are also at risk of sanctions. “
The U.S. State Department has also banned visas for ICC staff involved in “U.S. employee investigation efforts.”
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When President Trump issued his executive order in June, the ICC condemned him as “more intimidating and harsh.”
“The attack on the ICC is also an attack on the interests of victims of atrocities, many of whom represent the ultimate hope for justice,” the statement said.
Who is Fetu Bensouda?
As her former justice minister in the Gambia, Ms. Bensouda was ideally placed to succeed Luis Moreno-Ocampo as the ICC’s chief prosecutor, as she has been his deputy during her tenure.
She was also a senior legal adviser to a UN-backed tribunal that prosecuted alleged ringleaders in the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
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Reuters
Fatou Bensouda became the ICC’s chief prosecutor in 2012
While she expanded the ICC investigation to look elsewhere at the conflict, which has now angered the U.S., Africa remained her main focus. All ICC trials so far have focused only on the people of Africa – and the military leader of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Thomas Lubanga, became the first person to be convicted of war crimes by the ICC in 2012.
But Ms Bensouda also suffered defeats, including acquitting former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gababo of war crimes charges in 2019 and dropping crimes against humanity charges against Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2014.
What is the ICC investigating?
The ICC said earlier this year that the U.S. was involved in the Afghan conflict. And began investigating alleged war crimes committed by others.
According to the ICC’s legal process, the court may issue an arrest warrant or summons to appear after the lawyers have gathered sufficient evidence and identified the suspects. From there, they will decide if there is enough evidence to go to trial.
At the time, Mr Pompeo vowed to protect Americans from the investigation, saying it was “an act of indebtedness by an unaccountable, political body that masquerades as a legal entity.”
A 2016 ICC report states that secret detention facilities operated by the CIA were used by U.S. forces. There is good reason to believe that the military was tortured.
- Afghanistan: A Long Road to Peace
- The Afghan War: A Short and Long Story
The actions of the Taliban, the Afghan government and US troops are expected to be investigated by a court since May 2003.
Afghanistan is a member of the court but officials there have also protested against the investigation.
