WASHINGTON: The Trump administration is ramping up pressure on the International Criminal Court for pursuing investigations into US and Israeli officials for alleged war crimes. The State Department on Wednesday (Aug 20) announced new sanctions on four ICC officials, who it said had been instrumental in efforts to prosecute US and Israeli citizens.
The sanctions are just the latest in a series of steps the administration has taken against the Hague-based court, the world’s first international war crimes tribunal. The US has already imposed penalties on the ICC’s former chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, who stepped aside in May pending an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct, and four other tribunal judges.
In a statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he had taken action against ICC judges Kimberly Prost of Canada and Nicolas Guillou of France and prosecutors Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji and Mame Mandiaye Niang of Senegal.
“These individuals are foreign persons who directly engaged in efforts by the International Criminal Court to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel, without the consent of either nation,” Rubio said. He added that the administration would continue “to take whatever actions we deem necessary to protect our troops, our sovereignty, and our allies from the ICC’s illegitimate and baseless actions”.
