The International Criminal Court on Friday condemned President Trump’s executive order imposing sanctions on it, saying that the action sought to harm the court’s “independent and impartial judicial work.” Key European allies of the United States also distanced themselves from his decision.
Mr. Trump’s order on Thursday said that his administration would “impose tangible and significant consequences” on people who work on investigations that threaten the national security of the United States and its allies, including Israel.
Last November, the court issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, and the country’s former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, accusing them of crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza. The I.C.C. faced backlash from the U.S. and Israel as a result. The court also issued a warrant for a Hamas leader, Muhammad Deif.
In its statement on Friday, the court said that it stood by its personnel and pledged “to continue providing justice and hope to millions of innocent victims of atrocities across the world.” The court was set up under a 1998 treaty and has jurisdiction to prosecute people for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.
Some in Israel and elsewhere expressed support for Mr. Trump’s order. Gideon Saar, Israel’s foreign minister, said that the court did not have jurisdiction over the United States or Israel because neither country was a member. “The I.C.C. aggressively pursues the elected leaders of Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East,” he wrote on social media.
The court’s jurisdiction can extend beyond member states. The Rome Statute, which established the court, empowers the U.N. Security Council to refer atrocity crimes committed in any country to the court for investigation.
Some right-wing leaders in Europe also praised Mr. Trump’s move or criticized the court.
“Can’t the International Criminal Court be moved to Belgium or something?” Geert Wilders, the right-wing leader of the Netherlands’ biggest political party, wrote on social media. “Never understood the point of that club being located here.”
Viktor Orban, the right-wing leader of Hungary and a friend of Mr. Wilders, said Hungary would “review what we’re doing in an international organization that is under U.S. sanctions!”
“New winds are blowing in international politics,” Mr. Orban wrote. “We call it the Trump-tornado.”
But several other organizations and leaders criticized Mr. Trump, and key American allies in Europe reaffirmed support for the court.
Amnesty International called the order vindictive and aggressive. “It is a brutal step that seeks to undermine and destroy what the international community has painstakingly constructed over decades,” Agnès Callamard, the organization’s secretary general, said in a statement.
Caspar Veldkamp, the foreign minister of the Netherlands, where the court is based, called the I.C.C.’s work “essential in the fight against impunity,” while Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said the court “guarantees accountability for international crimes and gives a voice to victims worldwide,”
“Europe will always stand for justice and the respect of international law,” she said in a statement.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain, speaking on condition of anonymity under Downing Street rules, said Mr. Trump’s executive order was “a matter for the U.S.” but added that “we support the independence of the I.C.C., and therefore have no plans to sanction individual court officials.”
France, which has been cautious in its reaction to the I.C.C. warrant against Mr. Netanyahu — suggesting last year that it would not immediately arrest him if he traveled there — expressed its “unwavering support” for the I.C.C.
Christophe Lemoine, a spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry, told reporters that France would “mobilize to ensure that the court can continue to fulfill its mission independently and impartially.”
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