State Department warns allies of sanctions for ICC cooperation
The State Department has warned that nations refusing to reject what it calls the ICC’s “false authority” will face “increased scrutiny,” particularly those receiving US security assistance, according to a Guardian report published Friday. The warning encompasses Britain, which contributes roughly £15 million annually to the ICC and ranks as its fourth-largest donor, the report said.
An ICC official previously threatened with sanctions told The Guardian the measures effectively sever targeted individuals from modern financial and digital infrastructure. Personal bank accounts are closed, access to applications including Uber and Booking.com is blocked, and Microsoft and Google email accounts become inaccessible, the official said. The court has been forced to relocate evidence previously stored on Microsoft systems.
Luis Moreno Ocampo, the ICC’s first chief prosecutor, told The Guardian that Trump’s determination to dismantle the court stems from personal liability concerns. “Trump knows he could be a target after he leaves office,” Ocampo said. “The ICC is a huge obstacle for him.”
The current offensive follows sanctions Trump imposed during his first term after the ICC investigated alleged war crimes by US troops in Afghanistan. A fresh wave of sanctions was triggered after Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of war crimes in Gaza. The State Department is also seeking alignment with non-ICC member nations, including Russia and China, according to the Guardian report.
The court is simultaneously grappling with an internal leadership crisis. Khan faces sexual abuse allegations from two women, one a court staffer. The executive committee of the ICC’s governing body voted last month to suspend Khan, who denies wrongdoing. The court’s 125 member states are scheduled to vote Friday on whether to remove him from office. Former officials have described the court’s working atmosphere as “toxic,” and the institution has faced criticism over its record of collapsed prosecutions, including the cases against former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and Vice President William Ruto.
Britain’s newly appointed Foreign Secretary, Ed Miliband, said upon taking office that the current period faces “greater instability and threat to international law … than at any time since the second world war.” The former Philippines president, Rodrigo Duterte, is currently on trial at the ICC accused of crimes against humanity during his “war on drugs,” representing one of the court’s most prominent active prosecutions.