UN chief welcomes revocation of U.S. sanctions against ICC officials

Under Donald Trump, the United States imposed sanctions on the ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, after she launched a war crimes investigation targeting US military personnel in Afghanistan

United Nations | Xinhua | UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday welcomed the revocation by the United States of former President Donald Trump’s executive order on sanctions against senior officials of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The United States on Friday lifted sanctions against senior officials of the International Criminal Court (ICC) that were imposed by the administration of former President Donald Trump.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that President Joe Biden had revoked an executive order against certain persons of the ICC, ending the threat and imposition of economic sanctions and visa restrictions in connection with the court.

“As a result, the sanctions imposed by the previous administration against ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and Phakiso Mochochoko, the Head of the Jurisdiction, Complementarity and Cooperation Division of the Office of the Prosecutor, have been lifted,” he said.

The ICC plays an important role in advancing accountability for international crimes. The secretary-general affirms the continued cooperation of the United Nations under the Relationship Agreement between the United Nations and the ICC, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for Guterres, in a statement.

The new U.S. administration led by President Joe Biden on Friday revoked Trump’s executive order of June 11, 2020.

The ICC, established in 2002, prosecutes crimes of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression.

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Xinhua