US President Donald Trump's administration has prepared sanctions against the entire International Criminal Court and may announce them in the near future. Reuters reports, citing two sources familiar with the matter, UNN writes.
Details
According to the publication, the Trump administration previously imposed sanctions on a number of ICC judges and prosecutors. US officials also urged the court to withdraw arrest warrants for Israeli leaders and halt its preliminary investigation into US military personnel in Afghanistan. In July, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a campaign to isolate the court and called on other countries to withdraw from the ICC. At the same time, the US has not yet imposed sanctions directly against the organization as a whole.
"Sources said that sanctions against the court had already been prepared, although the exact timing of the announcement remained unclear," the publication writes.
The Wall Street Journal cited officials who said that the decision could be finalized as early as this week during a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly. Directly targeting the entire organization, as well as entities that cooperate with it, could seriously undermine the court's work, the publication notes.
"Any sanctions imposed by the US Treasury Department against the organization as a whole would prohibit US citizens and companies from providing the court with funds, goods, or services without a license from the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Banks often overcomply with such US sanctions because they depend on access to the US financial system. Among the court's operations that could be affected by sanctions against the organization as a whole are the procurement of IT services and insurance, the hiring of investigators, and the conduct of everyday financial operations, such as paying dozens of US employees, the ICC secretary and president warned," the publication writes.
We remind you
The International Criminal Court condemned the US sanctions against its president and staff, calling them an undermining of the rule of law. The court will continue its work, supporting employees and victims of international crimes.