The International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] stated [press release] Tuesday that it will continue its investigation into potential war crimes in Afghanistan [ICC backgrounder] despite threats from the Trump administration [JURIST report] on Monday.
On Monday, John Bolton, a national security advisor to the Trump administration, stated that the US would use any means necessary to protect both their citizens and their nation as a whole. He also indicated that the US may impose sanctions on the ICC in response to the court’s position and that, although a plan to impose such sanctions is not yet in place, one is in currently being refined and Bolton stated that he is inclined to eventually propose it. Bolton also stated that the US did not intend to cooperate with the investigation, calling it “unfounded” and “unjustifiable,” and stated that that ICC is “dead” to the US.
In a short response Tuesday, the ICC said:
The Court was established and constituted under the Rome Statute, the Court’s founding treaty–to which 123 countries from all regions of the world are party and have pledged their support through ratification–as an instrument to ensure accountability for crimes that shock the conscience of humanity. The Court is an independent and impartial judicial institution.
The Court’s jurisdiction is subject to the primary jurisdiction of States themselves to investigate and prosecute allegations of those crimes and bring justice to the affected communities. It is only when the States concerned fail to do so at all or genuinely that the ICC will exercise jurisdiction.
The ICC, as a court of law, will continue to do its work undeterred, in accordance with those principles and the overarching idea of the rule of law.
Many international legal experts expressed shock at Bolton’s statements, stating that they were in contradiction to the international community’s acceptance of holding nations accountable for war crimes. Jamil Dakwar, the head of the ACLU’s human rights division [ACLU backgrounder] stated on Twitter that, “The Trump administration’s threat to criminally prosecute and sanction International Criminal Court judges and prosecutors is straight out of an authoritarian playbook.”
In response to questions on Bolton’s comment, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders stated [press conference transcript text] that:
[T]he President is committed to defending our national sovereignty and all of our security interests, which would include using any means necessary to protect our citizens and those of our allies from unjust prosecution by the ICC. Their announcement that they would consider opening an investigation into—among other parties—U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan is a threat to American sovereignty. And if they proceed with that, then the United States would consider those options that Ambassador Bolton laid out today.
Sanders also indicated that the ICC is on the verge of announcing their determination on the investigation.
