The United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday condemned any “threat, attack or interference” in the International Criminal Court and its affairs as part of a discussion of the court’s annual report, in which the Assembly’s president, Annalena Baerbock, described the measures and sanctions imposed on it by countries such as the United States as “attacks against the very principles of international law.”
“(The Assembly) affirms that the International Criminal Court and its officials and employees must be able to carry out their mandate and professional obligations as an international judicial institution and international civil servants, respectively, without intimidation, and condemns any threat, attack or interference with respect to the Court, its employees or its collaborators,” said the resolution approved by the multilateral organization.
Likewise, General Assembly delegates called on states parties to the Rome Statute “to enact national laws to fulfill the obligations arising from that Statute and to cooperate with the International Criminal Court,” according to the resolution document.
For his part, Baerbock stressed that “for more than two decades, the Court has fought against impunity and shown that even in the darkest moments, accountability is still possible,” before adding that “while we witness atrocities that continue to shock the conscience of humanity, it is clear that the Court’s mission is still far from complete,” according to the United Nations News Agency.
The President of the Multilateral Chamber expressed his regret that many officials in the judiciary “were imposed sanctions for defending the rule of law and demanding responsibilities, and their systems were subjected to cyber attacks with the aim of undermining their credibility.”
He condemned, “These are not isolated incidents, but rather deliberate attacks against the court that seek to weaken the rule of law and undermine confidence in international institutions.”
His statements came during the assembly’s discussion of the annual report of the International Criminal Court, which includes the sanctions imposed by the United States on judges and prosecutors in the institution last February in response to the arrest warrants issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the then Defense Minister, Yoav Galant, on charges of committing alleged war crimes. The International Criminal Court also extended these orders to a number of leaders of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).
ICC President Judge Tomoko Akane stressed in the plenary session that the organization’s rulings remind the international community that justice “transcends borders and interests,” but when “judges are pressured, threatened or undermined, the credibility of international law is undermined.” He expressed his regret that “attacks, threats and coercive measures against the court and its officials have continued and continue to represent a serious threat to the administration of justice.”
Likewise, Akani highlighted that detention orders can only be implemented in cooperation with states, while “the court gives victims a voice and space to tell their stories and hope that the truth will be recognized and responsibilities determined.”
The United States, which had already imposed sanctions on the ICC’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, expanded the measure in August to include four members of the court involved in cases against Israel and Washington to pursue arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant that Khan initially issued and which Secretary of State Marco Rubio described as “illegitimate.” Israel welcomed the decision and was rejected by the court itself, as well as the European Union.
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