The International Criminal Court (ICC) condemned US President Donald Trump's decision to impose sanctions on its staff, reports "Reuters", reports News.bg.
Yesterday, Trump signed an executive order imposing economic and visa sanctions targeting individuals working on investigations against US citizens or US allies, including Israel, within the ICC. This is a repeat of actions he took in his first term.
Trump's move was in response to the ICC's decision to issue an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The sanctions were announced during the Israeli leader's visit to Washington.
The ICC warned that these measures would undermine its judicial work and called on its 125 member states "to remain united" in defense of justice and human rights.
"The court stands firmly behind its staff and will continue to provide justice and hope to millions of innocent victims of atrocities around the world," the institution said.
Established in 2002, the ICC aims to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression when member states are unwilling or unable to do so themselves. It has jurisdiction over crimes committed by nationals of member states or on their territory. However, the United States is not among the court's member states.
The European Union reacted with "deep regret" to Trump's decision.
"The executive order poses a serious challenge to the work of the ICC and could affect ongoing investigations, including those related to Ukraine. "This will affect long-standing efforts to ensure accountability around the world," European Commission spokeswoman Jennifer Rankin said.
She added that the EU would "monitor the consequences" of the order and "assess possible next steps."
At the same time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed gratitude to Trump and called the ICC a "corrupt anti-Semitic court."