US sanctions ICC over Afghanistan investigation
US President Donald Trump has ordered sanctions against the International Criminal Court in an attempt to block its investigation of alleged crimes against humanity by US troops and the CIA in Afghanistan.
The US called the ICC, based in The Hague, a “grossly corrupt kangaroo court” and claimed it was being “manipulated” by Russia. It also warned Nato allies to stand with the US, saying: “Your people could be next.”
The move was the latest escalation by the White House as it seeks to prevent the court opening a detailed examination of America’s longest war.
It includes economic sanctions and travel restrictions against court employees directly involved in investigating or prosecuting US personnel, or those of its allies.
Under the measures, the court’s employees can have their US financial assets and property seized and, along with their family members, they will be blocked from entering the US.
Founded in 2002, the court is recognised by 123 countries, including the UK. The ICC opened a preliminary investigation in 2014 into alleged British war crimes in Iraq. A preliminary inquiry remains open but Britain’s chief military prosecutor said last week he expected it to be shut down.
The court has always faced opposition from the US, which has refused to accept its jurisdiction.
In March, the ICC ruled that its chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, could investigate allegations of war crimes in Afghanistan. She wants to look at possible offences by US soldiers and intelligence officials between 2003 and 2014, including alleged “torture, cruel treatment, outrages upon personal dignity, rape and sexual violence”. Mass killings of civilians by the Taliban, and alleged torture of prisoners by Afghan authorities, are also part of the inquiry.
Last year, the US revoked the chief prosecutor’s visa. Trump has now signed an executive order imposing the new sanctions. Mike Pompeo, his secretary of state, made a clear call to the UK to back the move.
He said: “We cannot, we will not, stand by as our people are threatened by a kangaroo court. It’s grossly ineffective and corrupt.
“I have a message to many close allies around the world — your people could be next, especially those from Nato countries who fought terrorism in Afghanistan right alongside of us.”
Josep Borrell, the EU’s chief diplomat, voiced “serious concern”.
He said: “We as the EU are steadfast supporters of the ICC. The court has been playing a key role in providing international justice and addressing the gravest international crimes. It is a key factor in bringing justice and peace. It must be respected and supported.”
The US has also been angered by the court’s desire to look into alleged war crimes in the Palestinian territories by Israel. US officials argued that it has its own systems in place to examine allegations of wrongdoing by its troops.
Last year, Trump used his executive powers to clear Eddie Gallagher, a Navy Seal who had been convicted of posing next to the corpse of a captured prisoner in Iraq.
A senior Trump administration official said: “[The ICC] is an unaccountable, ineffective and out-ofcontrol international bureaucracy that threatens US service members and intelligence officers, and those of our allies.
“We have reason to believe there is corruption and misconduct at the highest levels of the ICC. We are concerned that Russia may be manipulating the ICC by encouraging these allegations into US personnel.”
Trump’s “America First” foreign policy has seen him withdraw from, or oppose, a litany of international agreements and organisations, putting him at odds with allies in Europe and Nato.