US to take firm stand against ICC
The United States on Monday will adopt an aggressive posture against the International Criminal Court in The Hague, threatening sanctions against its judges if they proceed with an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by Americans in Afghanistan.
President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, is to make the announcement in a midday speech to the Federalist Society, a conservative group, in Washington. It will be his first major address since joining the Trump White House.
“The United States will use any means necessary to protect our citizens and those of our allies from unjust prosecution by this illegitimate court,” Bolton will say, according to a draft of his speech.
Bolton will also say the State Department will announce the closure of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) office in Washington out of concern about Palestinian attempts to prompt an ICC investigation of Israel.
The PLO office in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“The United States will always stand with our friend and ally, Israel,” says Bolton’s draft text.
The draft speech says the Trump administration “will fight back” if the International Criminal Court (ICC) formally proceeds with opening an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by US service members and intelligence professionals during the war in Afghanistan.
If such a probe proceeds, the Trump administration will consider banning judges and prosecutors from entering the US, put sanctions on any funds they have in the US financial system and prosecute them in the American court system.
“We will not cooperate with the ICC. We will not join the ICC. We will let the ICC die on its own. After all, for all intents and purposes, the ICC is already dead to us,” says Bolton’s draft text.
The US did not ratify the Rome treaty that established the ICC in 2002, with thenpresident George W Bush opposed to the court, and former president Barack Obama taking some steps to cooperate with the organisation.