Judge And Prosecutor Sanctioned By US, ICC Confirms It Will Meet Mandates Without Ignoring Pressure Or Threats

International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Dutch Hague. (Wikimedia Commons/Vysotsky)

JAKARTA - The International Criminal Court (ICC) has confirmed that it will fulfill its mandate, regardless of the threats or pressures that come.

The ICC condemns the new United States sanctions imposed by President Donald Trump's administration on four of its officials, including two judges who authorized arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for their war crimes in Gaza.

Calling the action a "discrete attack on the independence of an implicit judiciary," the ICC said in a statement the sanctions constituted an insult to 125 member states of the court, a rule-based international order, and "million innocent victims worldwide."

The court pledged to continue to fulfill its mandate "without paying attention to any pressure or threats," the ICC said.

As previously reported, President Trump's administration imposed sanctions on two judges and two ICC prosecutors. In a statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the court a "national security threat that has become an instrument for legal war" against the United States and Israel.

Those who were sanctioned according to the State Department and the US Treasury were Nicolas Yann Guilu from France, Nazhat Shameem Khan from Fiji, Mame Mandiaye Niang from Senegal, and Kimberly Prost from Canada. They are known to be linked to cases related to Israel and the United States.

"The United States has taken a clear and steadfast stance in our opposition to the politicization of the ICC, the abuse of power, the neglect of our national sovereignty, and the expansion of illegal judicial authority," Foreign Minister Rubio said.

ICC judges issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli defense chief Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Ibrahim al-Masri last November on suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Gaza conflict.

In March 2020, public prosecutors opened an investigation into Afghanistan that includes investigations into possible crimes by US forces. However, since 2021, the US role has been prioritized and focused on alleged crimes committed by the Afghan government and Taliban forces.

Guillelou is the judge of the ICC who led the pretrial panel that issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu. Khan and Niang were two deputy prosecutors at the court.

Meanwhile, Canadian Judge Kimberly Prost served in the ICC appeals panel which, in March 2020, unanimously authorized the ICC prosecutor to investigate alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Afghanistan since 2003, including examining the role of US military members.

The move received responses from France and the United Nations that called the judges' employment very important for international justice.

"Their role is very important in the fight against impunity," the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

US sanctions undermine the foundations of international justice, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, adding: "The (US) decision provides heavy obstacles to the function of the prosecutor."

The designation freezes any US assets these individuals may have and breaks their access to the US financial system.