State Secretary Marco Rubio, under the authority of an executive order formerly issued by President Donald Trump, recently expanded sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The ICC is an international tribunal designed to prosecute individuals for the international crimes of Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.
Last February, President Trump signed an executive order sanctioning any individual supporting ICC proceedings against individuals whose states did not authorize such proceedings.
Consequently, Trump also sanctioned ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan for issuing arrest warrants against Israel and initiating investigations against the US military.
In line with Trump’s order, the latest sanctions target four ICC judges who authorized prosecutions against the US and Israel.
Judges Solomy Balungi Bossa and Luz del Carmen Ibanez Carranza were sanctioned for approving investigations into US military personnel’s actions in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, Judges Alapini Gansou and Beti Hohler were sanctioned for enabling Prosecutor Khan to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.
US and Israeli officials have persistently and bipartisanly derided the ICC’s investigations and arrest warrants against its citizens.
“The ICC’s baseless and politicized targeting of America and our close ally Israel must end,” declared Secretary Rubio.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), for example, condemned the ICC’s proceedings against Israel as “not only profoundly unfair, but (also) reprehensible.”
Neither the US nor Israel are legally bound to the ICC's jurisdiction.
The ICC’s own rules, however, authorize it to initiate proceedings for alleged crimes committed in the territories of state parties to the court, regardless of the nationality of the alleged criminal perpetrators.
Following allegations that Israel and the US violated international humanitarian law in territories bound to the ICC, the latter began investigating the former.
US lawmakers had warned the ICC of consequences if it moved against any US or Israeli citizens, arguing that the US and Israel had robust legal systems to deal with any crimes committed by their nationals.
“The ICC was warned that investigating Americans or our allies would lead to consequences and sanctions,” stated Senator Tom Cotton (R-AK) “Glad to see President Trump take action against this farce of a court.”
