United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has called on the United States to immediately withdraw sanctions imposed on four judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC), condemning the move as a violation of judicial independence and the rule of law.
“I am profoundly disturbed by the decision of the Government of the United States of America to sanction judges of the International Criminal Court,” Türk said in a statement on Friday. “I call for the prompt reconsideration and withdrawal of these latest measures.”
The U.S. announced the sanctions on Thursday, targeting ICC judges Beti Hohler (Slovenia), Reine Alapini-Gansou (Benin), Luz del Carmen Ibanez Carranza (Peru), and Solomy Balungi Bossa (Uganda). Two of the judges participated in authorising an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while the others were involved in authorising an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
Türk stressed that punishing judges for carrying out their legal duties undermines justice and is inconsistent with the values the U.S. has historically championed. “Such attacks are deeply corrosive of good governance and the due administration of justice,” he said.
The development has drawn global attention, further fuelling debate over the role of international justice mechanisms and the limits of national responses to decisions made by international courts.
