The Hague, Netherlands (AP) – The outgoing lawyer for the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday slammed sanctions imposed on the Trump administration ahead of his resignation from next year’s annual meeting of the Court’s member states in his final speech.
Fadu Benzouda noted at the beginning of his speech to the state legislature that the court and his prosecution “were subjected to unprecedented and completely unacceptable threats, attacks and sanctions last year.”
In September, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Freezing of assets held in the United States or subject to U.S. law by Benzouda and the jurisdiction of the court by Fakiso Mosokoko. Earlier this year, the United States lifted a travel ban on Benjamin U.S. troops and intelligence officials and other court officials investigating allied countries, including Israel, for war crimes in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
Benzema said the move was an attack on the court and its member states and “represents a dangerous precedent for the rule of law international organization.”
He said: “My real hope is that the United States is turning its policy of aggression against the courts. No one will win from such attacks.”
It is not yet clear how the bad relationship between the United States and the World Court will change when Joe Biden is elected president next year.
Washington has long been wary of the court and its power. Former US President Bill Clinton signed the Rome Law Treaty, which established the court on December 31, 2000, but President George W. Bush did not. Bush dropped the signature, citing fears that Americans would be unjustly prosecuted for political reasons.
Human Rights Watch has called for the lifting of sanctions and urged the 123 member states of the court at a meeting that began on Monday: “The United States has demanded that the US administration seize the opportunity. The court’s Rome law, universal law and access to justice for victims. ”
Part of the agenda for this week’s meeting of the Court’s member states is to select a successor to Benzema close to completing his nine – year term. It is not clear at the meeting whether the selection process will be completed or pushed to next year. Benzouda said it aims to complete the handover to its heir by mid-2021.
In his speech, Benzouda called on the court to provide adequate funding to member states as his office comes under increasing pressure to investigate alleged atrocities around the world. On Friday, he said there were lengthy preliminary investigations into alleged crimes in Nigeria And Ukraine Those countries have established the need for full-scale investigations.
“The dilemma we face due to capacity constraints underscores the clear mismatch between the resources provided to my office and the ever-increasing demands on it,” Benzouda said.
He called for “open and open discussions” about the resources his office would need to do its work, and he said: “The current path is simply not sustainable.”