Biden ended Trump’s sanctions against the International Criminal Court

Francisco Fantemagi
France Media Agency

The court, sitting in The Hague in the Netherlands, immediately welcomed the “beginning of a new phase” in the “common commitment to fight against impunity”.

Joe Biden assured Washington that Washington was “opposed” to the ICC’s desire to investigate allegations of “non-signatory state personnel” to the Rome Statute, which gave birth to the Rome Statute, “including the United States and their allies”, and the “lack of referral to the United Nations Security Council”.

This is a reference to the investigation into allegations of US war crimes in Afghanistan, which prompted the Trump era sanctions, and the recent launch of an investigation into crime in the territories. Blamed the occupied Palestinians, especially Israel.

The U.S. president stressed that “we strongly defend the current and former staff of the United States” against these investigations.

However, “intimidation and imposition of financial sanctions against the court […] This is not an appropriate or effective strategy, “he said. He therefore “withdrew” the presidential decrees taken by his predecessor last June, which allowed the judges to punish him.

“As a result, the sanctions imposed by the previous government on ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda were” lifted, and another official, Fakiso Mochochoko, was “lifted,” U.S. Ambassador Anthony Blinken said in a statement, as well as several visa restrictions imposed on court staff in 2019.

He explained that he wanted a special right to “conversation” rather than “sanctions”.

The Trump administration, which carries a sovereign and arbitrary foreign policy, has intensified distrust of the ICC, which has been built as a symbol of hatred in multilateralism. Inspired by former presidential adviser John Bolton and then former foreign secretary Mike Pompey, she took unprecedented action by granting a series of court officials, including Fatou Bensouda, in September.

“Support for the rule of law”

Despite its proximity to the Republican team on two specific issues related to Afghanistan and Israel, the Democratic administration seemed to want to ease tensions immediately.

After Joe Biden arrived at the White House in January, the State Department quickly warned that sanctions had begun to be reviewed. The 46^E After the President of the United States promised to re-enact multilateralism and put democracy and the protection of human rights at the heart of his diplomacy, the attack on international jurisdiction to punish war crimes and crimes committed against humanity contradicted it. Policy.

But human rights defenders began to become impatient.

“Our support for the rule of law, access to justice and the opportunity to consider those responsible for the mass atrocities are important national security interests for the United States,” he said in a statement on Friday. Anthony Blinken, ICC calls for reform.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian welcomed an American statement, “wonderful news for all those committed to the fight against international order based on punitiveness, multilateralism and the rule of law.”

“The Trump administration’s punitive sanctions on ICC officials have led to the reckless neglect of victims of serious international crimes,” said Andrea Praso of Human Rights Watch.

“Eventually through the repeal of this novel and the unruly use of sanctions, President Joe Biden began to turn the page on Donald Trump’s attack on the rule of international law,” she said.