On January, 6 our Association supported the Open Letter to Members of the 119th Congress and the incoming Presidential Administration of Donald J. Trump regarding risks on possible U.S. sanctions against International Criminal Court (ICC).
That Letter was initiated by of the Washington Working Group for the ICC, and supported by more than 70 recognised human rights structures, including American Human Rights Council, Amnesty International USA, Basel Peace Office, Center for the Development of International Law, Ukrainian Legal Advisory Group and others.
Open Letter urged other governments, Members of Congress, and advocates for victims everywhere to raise their voices to oppose attacks on the independence and autonomy of international judicial institutions like the ICC. Document stressed undersigned organizations’ grave concerns and unequivocally opposing the use of the sanctions authority against the ICC, an independent judicial institution dedicated to combating impunity for the gravest crimes known to humanity.
Open Letter reminded that the positive role of the ICC has been recognized through previous bipartisan support for investigations into war crimes allegedly perpetrated by Russian officials in the Ukraine conflict, that was reflected in U.S. Senate Resolution 531 and House of Representatives’ resolution 963.
Document added that the ICC represents and constitutes part of a global system of international justice of which the United States was a chief architect, and that “today, the ICC, alongside other tribunals, regional mechanisms, and national courts, is carrying forward these efforts through investigations and prosecutions that could help realize justice for atrocity victims from Sudan to Myanmar to Ukraine”.
“Practically, sanctioning the court or its officials would halt its work across all situations that are under its purview, including those critically important to the United States, such as the situation in Ukraine”, Open Letter added. Let us stress, that ICC investigations have crucial importance for restoring justice for victims of Russian occupation on Crimea.
