Netherlands rejects new sanctions America imposed on International Criminal Court
The Netherlands “disapproves” of the new sanctions that the United States imposed on four judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, caretaker Minister Caspar Veldkamp of Foreign Affairs said on X. “Independent international courts and tribunals must be able to carry out their work without hindrance. We stand firmly behind the Court,” he said.
The sanctions are against ICC judges Solomy Balungi Bossa from Uganda, Luz del Carmen Ibanez Carranza from Peru, Reine Alapini-Gansou from Benin, and Beti Hohler from Slovenia. According to the American Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the judges participated in the ICC’s “baseless and politicized targeting of America and our close ally Israel.”
As a result of the sanctions, the ICC judges may have problems conducting simple financial transactions because the American measures apply to all financial institutions that do business with the U.S.
This follows earlier sanctions that Donald Trump imposed on the ICC in February after the court issued arrest warrants for the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the war in Gaza.
Rubio also mentioned the ICC investigation into the actions of American troops in Afghanistan, for which America also sanctioned an ICC judge in 2020 during Trump’s first term as president.
The sanctions are hitting the ICC hard. The news agency AP reported last month that the court’s activities have come to a virtual standstill.
The ICC responded that it “deplores” these new sanctions. “These measures are a clear attempt to undermine the independence of an international judicial institution which operates under the mandate from 125 States Parties from all corners of the globe,” the court said. “Targeting those working for accountability does nothing to help civilians trapped in conflict. It only emboldens those who believe they can act with impunity.”
The court said it stands fully behind its personnel and will “continue its work undeterred” to bring “justice to victims of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and the crime of aggression.”
