THE HAGUE : US Senators Threaten ICC Judges Over Genocide Investigation

(TeleSUR) – Fourteen conservative United States Senators have sent a letter to the International Court of Justice (ICC) Prosecutor Karim A. A. Khan, threatening to end all American support for the ICC and “sanction your employees and associates, and bar you and your families from the United States,” should they lay a charge of genocide against Israel.

On April 24, the  fourteen U.S. senators sent a letter to the ICC questioning the legitimacy and legality of the International Court issuing arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials has been condemned by over 40 United Nations human rights rapporteurs and experts.

Among the signatories to this letter are: Tom Cotton, Marco Rubio, Mitch McConnell, Katie Boyd Britt, Marsha Blackburn, Ted Budd, Kevin Cramer, Bill Hagerty, Pete Ricketts, Rick Scott, Tim Scott, and Ted Cruz.

“Neither Israel nor the U.S. are members of the ICC and are therefore outside of your organization’s supposed jurisdiction. If you issue a warrant for the arrest of the Israeli leadership, we will interpret this not only as a threat to Israel’s sovereignty but to the U.S. sovereignty.

“Our country demonstrated in the American Service-Members’ Protection Act the lengths to which we will go to protect that sovereignty,” the Senators said.

“The U.S. will not tolerate politicized attacks by the ICC on our allies. Target Israel and we will target you. If you move forward with the measures indicated in the report, we will move to end all American support for the ICC, sanction your employees and associates, and bar you and your families from the United States. You have been warned,” The United States Senators added.

On May 4, the ICC Prosecutor’s Office confirmed having received threats of retaliation, which included direct sanctions against its members and cuts to the financing of this international institution.

In reaction to these threats, the United Nations special rapporteurs affirmed that U.S. politicians promote impunity in an investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity.

“At a time when the world should unite to end the terrible bloodshed in Gaza and seek justice for those unlawfully killed, injured, traumatized, or taken hostage, since October 7, it is distressing to see State officials threatening to retaliate against a Court for pursuing international justice,” the experts said.

“It is shocking to see countries that consider themselves champions of the rule of law trying to intimidate an independent and impartial international tribunal to thwart accountability,” they added.

UN rapporteurs recalled that the ICC Prosecutor has been investigating crimes committed by anyone in Palestinian and Israeli territory since 2014. As part of an ICC-authorized task, Khan is investigating what is happening in Gaza and the West Bank since October 7, 2023.

“A majority of the world’s countries support the Court. The ICC’s role is more crucial than ever. Impeding the work of the Court and its Prosecutor will be detrimental, not only for accountability in the occupied Palestinian territory but for international justice as a whole,” UN special rapporteurs stressed.

The statement rejecting threats to the ICC was signed by members of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council, which is the largest body of independent experts in the United Nations Human Rights system. Among them are the following people: