What is the International Criminal Court and how will Trump’s sanctions impact it?

By MOLLY QUELL

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump’s enforcement bid imposing sanctions connected the International Criminal Court could jeopardize trials and investigations astatine the world’s lone imperishable planetary tribunal for warfare crimes and genocide.

The bid Trump signed Thursday accuses the ICC of “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our adjacent state Israel.” It cites the apprehension warrant the ICC issued past twelvemonth for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his erstwhile defence minister, Yoav Gallant, implicit alleged warfare crimes successful Gaza.

The Hague-based tribunal condemned the move. “The Court stands firmly by its unit and pledges to proceed providing justness and anticipation to millions of guiltless victims of atrocities crossed the world,” the tribunal said successful a statement.

What is the International Criminal Court?

The tribunal was created successful 2002 to beryllium a past halt for the astir superior planetary crimes: warfare crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and aggression.

The United States and Israel are not members, but 125 different countries person signed the court’s foundational treaty, the Rome Statute. The ICC becomes progressive erstwhile nations are incapable oregon unwilling to prosecute crimes connected their territory.

The court’s newest member, Ukraine, formally joined successful January.

Judges astatine the tribunal person convicted 11 people. Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga was the first, sentenced successful 2012 to 14 years successful situation for conscripting kid soldiers.

A Congolese warlord known arsenic “The Terminator” was convicted successful July 2019 for atrocities committed during a brutal taste struggle successful a mineral-rich portion of Congo successful 2002-2003. Bosco Ntaganda was fixed a 30-year situation sentence.

In 2021, the tribunal convicted Dominic Ongwen of dozens of warfare crimes and crimes against humanity, including aggregate killings and forced marriages successful Uganda. Ongwen was a one-time kid worker who morphed into a brutal commandant of a notorious rebel radical known arsenic the Lord’s Resistance Army.

What volition these sanctions do?

The nonstop interaction is unclear. Trump’s enforcement bid invokes exigency powers from respective antithetic laws to let the U.S. Treasury Department and the U.S. State Department to contented circumstantial sanctions.

The court’s main prosecutor, Karim Khan, is simply a apt target, arsenic is anyone progressive successful the Netanyahu investigation, including the 3 judges who issued the apprehension warrants. The sanctions could besides people the tribunal itself, grinding its operations to a halt.

During his erstwhile word successful office, Trump imposed sanctions connected erstwhile authoritative Fatou Bensouda and 1 of her deputies implicit her probe of alleged crimes successful Afghanistan. The probe covered offenses allegedly committed by the Taliban, American troops and U.S. overseas quality operatives dating backmost to 2002. Trump’s sanctions blocked Bensouda from accessing immoderate U.S.-based fiscal assets of tribunal employees and barred her and her contiguous household from entering the United States.

President Joe Biden lifted the sanctions erstwhile helium took bureau successful 2021.

Why has the tribunal issued an apprehension warrant for Netanyahu?

In November, a pretrial sheet of judges issued apprehension warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant and Hamas’ subject chief, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity successful transportation with the warfare successful Gaza. Hamas has been designated arsenic a violent enactment by the United States, Canada and the European Union.

The warrants said determination was crushed to judge Netanyahu and Gallant utilized “starvation arsenic a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid, and intentionally targeted civilians successful Israel’s run against Hamas successful Gaza. Israeli officials contradict the charges.

The warrant marked the archetypal clip that a sitting person of a large Western powerfulness has been accused of warfare crimes and crimes against humanity by a planetary court. The determination makes Netanyahu and the others internationally wanted suspects, putting them astatine hazard of apprehension erstwhile they question overseas and perchance further isolating them.

Do these sanctions jeopardize existent trials?

The tribunal is presently without a azygous proceedings up for the archetypal clip since it arrested its archetypal fishy successful 2006.

It has issued 33 unsealed apprehension warrants. Those named scope from Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin to Ugandan rebel person Joseph Kony and Gamlet Guchmazov, a erstwhile authorities subordinate of the breakaway portion of South Ossetia successful Georgia. Kony is accused of warfare crimes and crimes against humanity. Guchmazov is accused of torture.

Three verdicts are pending. Former CAR shot federation president Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona and Alfred Yekatom, alleged leaders of a predominantly Christian rebel radical successful the Central African Republic, are accused of aggregate counts of warfare crimes and crimes against humanity.

The proceedings of Ali Mohammed Ali Abdul Rahman Ali, who is accused of committing atrocities arsenic the person of the Janjaweed militia successful Sudan, wrapped up past year.

For a fewer hours past month, the tribunal appeared poised to instrumentality a Libyan warlord into custody. Instead, subordinate authorities Italy sent Ossama Anjiem home. Also known arsenic Ossama al-Masri, Anjiem heads the Tripoli subdivision of the Reform and Rehabilitation Institution, a notorious web of detention centers tally by the government-backed Special Defense Force.

Originally Published: February 7, 2025 astatine 12:29 PM EST