Alwaght- The American President Donald Trump who since his inauguration issued several controversial executive orders against countries and international organizations, on Thursday signed into law sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC). This time the sanctions are not meant to protect American troops, but shield the Israeli occupation leaders against justice for Gaza.
According to this executive order, tge ICC was sanctioned for "illegitimate actions" and persecution of the United States and its allies including Israeli regime.
"The ICC has no jurisdiction over the United States or Israel, because neither is a party to the Rome Statute or a member of the ICC. Neither has ever recognized the jurisdiction of the ICC, and both are thriving democracies with militaries that strictly adhere to the laws of war," part of the order read.
According to the executive order, “the United States will impose tangible and significant consequences on those responsible for violations of the International Criminal Court, some of which may include freezing property and assets and suspending entry into the United States of officials, employees, and agents of the International Criminal Court, as well as their immediate family members, because their entry into our country would be detrimental to the United States.”
Trump’s move, like his other controversial plans for international order, has been met with widespread reactions. In June 2020, Trump also sanctioned the ICC for investigating war crimes by the US military in Afghanistan, but the Joe Biden administration lifted those sanctions.
Crushing international norms
In the past two weeks, Trump has shown that he does not adhere to any international laws and proved that the new US administration intends to dismantle all the structures built after World War II.
Sanctioning the ICC can be considered a violation of international norms, because this action is against the rules of international legal institutions and the principles of multilateral diplomacy. These sanctions not only pose a serious challenge to international justice, but also will also have far-reaching consequences for the global legal order.
Although the ICC is not a subsidiary of the United Nations, it is an independent institution responsible for investigating war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, and US sanctions undermine its independence.
Although the US has always been critical of the ICC and has not even signed the Rome Statute (the court’s founding treaty), directly sanctioning the institution is an unprecedented and radical step that exposes the country’s double standards.
The White House has always used international legal tools to advance its goals, similar to the White House’s welcome of the court’s 2023 arrest warrant issued for the Russian President Vladimir Putin. But with this action, it once again proved that it is opposed to the principles of the rule of law at the international level.
These sanctions, experts suggest, sent a message to the international community that powerful countries can escape international supervision while weaker countries are prosecuted.
It should be noted that after the establishment of the ICC, Washington passed a law called "The Hague Invasion Act," which allows the president of the country to take preventive measures against this legal institution if American citizens and even Washington's partners are arrested. Even a military attack on of the Hague has been raised as an option to punish the ICC.
Trump's move against the ICC, which is aimed at defending the Israeli regime and its war criminals, will weaken international cooperation for justice, and many countries may, inspired by this move, scale down their cooperation with international institutions, which will weaken the international legal order.
This move, which was taken with the aim of increasing pressure on human rights organizations, could make the work of international human rights institutions more difficult, and they may deviate from serving justice for the fear of punishment by great powers.
By signing hundreds of controversial orders upon entering the White House, Trump proved that he is willing to fight with the whole world to achieve his aims. This action, along with the US withdrawal from some international agreements such as the Paris Climate Agreement and the UN Human Rights Council, as well as the attempt to take over Greenland, the Panama Canal, and to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico, was a sign of the rise of the Trump administration's unilateral policies against global cooperation.
Hosting the war criminal
Trump announced the sanctions on the ICC two days after meeting with Netanyahu at the White House. The ICC had issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and the former Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant a few months ago in connection with the Israeli regime’s genocide in Gaza. Despite global support for the rulings, the previous US administration did not comply and threatened the judges of the ICC.
Hosting a war criminal after an arrest warrant was issued was unprecedented in US history, and US citizens and some US officials have announced their disavowal of the administration's behavior.
Just as some Americans have called Trump’s plan for forced migration of people of Gaza shameful, they believe that Netanyahu should have been arrested and brought to justice instead of standing in front of the cameras in the White House defending the killing of Palestinians.
This shameless hosting once again proved the US complicity in the crime against humanity in Israeli war on people of Gaza, and hence it can be understood that the action against the ICC is a preemptive move by the White House to prevent future investigations and sentencing of American officials in this historic crime.
Also, boycotting the ICC could reduce cooperation between the US and other countries in the fight against war crimes, terrorism, and international corruption.
Furthermore, following Trump's holding of a knife to the throat of global justice in support of Israeli war criminals, the wave of global aversion to the US has increased, and this issue will tarnish the image of this country among world's public opinion.
Influence of sanctioning the ICC on the American society
In addition to the international isolation of the US, sanctioning the ICC will have its negative impacts inside the US
Sanctioning an international justice organization creates the notion among the American lawyers and civil society that the administration resists judicial supervision, something undermining the public confidence in the legal system. The home rights organizations, lawyers, and the academics have condemned Trump's move and described it an illegal decision against the democratic principles. After all, after thid move, the American judges do not expect people to respect their rulings. Therefore, this action can present a model of disregard to the supervisory and judicial institutions at home.
Having in mind that American society is one of the most unruly societies in the world in terms of human rights and that thousands of people, especially black people, are killed every year because of the freedom of carrying arms, sanctioning the ICC will encourage these domestic crimes. Because when American citizens see that their government officials are uncommitted to any international or legal law, ordinary citizens, especially radical whites, will automatically refuse to comply with domestic laws, and this will deepen the social gaps.
This said, Trump's sanctions not only mar the US international credibility and relations, but also at home it will weaken rule of law, trigger political cleavages, and shatter the public confidence in the country's commitment to international justice.
