Published January 24,2025
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The International Criminal Court has taken measures to protect workers from attainable U.S. sanctions, paying salaries three months prematurely, because it braces for monetary restrictions that would cripple the battle crimes tribunal, two sources stated on Friday.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted this month to punish the court docket for issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister over Israel’s marketing campaign in Gaza.
The invoice would impose sanctions on any foreigner who investigates, arrests, detains or prosecutes U.S. residents, or these of allied nations that aren’t members of the court docket. That contains Israel.
While the precise scope of the sanctions and the targets are nonetheless unclear, the court docket is getting ready for main monetary fallout, the sources who spoke to Reuters on situation of anonymity, stated.
One of the sources stated proof was being backed up resulting from fears U.S. tech big Microsoft must cease working with the court docket.
The ICC informed Reuters in an e mail it will not touch upon any inside measures that will have been taken to guard the organisation and its workers.
The invoice’s sponsors stated they needed a vote as quickly as attainable, which might be subsequent week, however lawmakers have been busy confirming officers for brand new U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.
It would be the second time the court docket has confronted U.S. retaliation on account of its work. During the primary Trump administration in 2020, Washington imposed sanctions on then-prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and one in every of her prime aides over the ICC’s investigation into alleged battle crimes by American troops in Afghanistan.
Any banks with ties to the United States, or who conduct transactions in {dollars}, are anticipated to must adjust to the sanctions, severely limiting the ICC’s capability to hold out monetary transactions.
The 125-member ICC is a everlasting court docket that may prosecute people for battle crimes, crimes in opposition to humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression in opposition to the territory of member states or by their nationals. The United States, China, Russia and Israel aren’t members.
In December, the court docket’s president, choose Tomoko Akane, warned that sanctions would “rapidly undermine the Court’s operations in all situations and cases, and jeopardise its very existence”.
Source: www.anews.com.tr