BRUSSELS, June 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The European Union voiced grave concern about US President Donald Trump’s June 11 decision to authorise sanctions against the International Criminal Court, saying any punitive measures were “unacceptable and unprecedented”.
The bloc, whose trade and security ties are intertwined with the United States, also said the move showed how the “rules-based international order is facing increased pressure” – an allusion to Trump’s withdrawal from other treaties and accords.
Trump has authorised US economic and travel sanctions against employees of the Hague-based ICC involved in an investigation into whether American forces committed war crimes in Afghanistan.
“The European Union expresses grave concern about the announced measures and reconfirms its unwavering support for the International Criminal Court,” the 27-state bloc said in a Tuesday statement, urging the United States to reverse its position.
“Sanctions against those involved in the work of the ICC staff and their families as well as persons associated with the ICC are unacceptable and unprecedented in scope and content.”
The ICC condemned the decision and said it amounted to, “an unacceptable attempt to interfere with the rule of law.”
In March, the Appeals Chamber of the ICC ruled that the court’s prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, may proceed with a formal investigation into war crimes and abuses committed in Afghanistan since 2003 – when Afghanistan entered the ICC – and criminal acts she may discover during her investigation.
This overturned a Pretrial Chamber decision in April 2019 that rejected Bensouda’s proposal after more than a decade of examination.
The Afghan security forces are being investigated for several war crimes, torture, and sexual violence, while the Taliban’s crimes are based on severe deprivation of physical liberty and persecution against identifiable groups of civilians.
U.S. forces are also accused of war crimes, torture, and rape. — NNN-AGENCIES
