黑料社区

LONDON: More than 50 former foreign ministers, prime ministers and senior international figures have penned an open letter condemning efforts to interfere with International Criminal Court (ICC) efforts to investigate alleged war crimes in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.
It follows steps by the former Trump administration in the US to sanction court officials. These steps have since been reversed by the Biden administration.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has also been implicated in the campaign to prevent the investigation.
He said last month that an ICC probe opened in March 鈥済ave the impression of being a partial and prejudicial attack on a friend and ally of the UK.鈥�
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that any ICC investigation would constitute 鈥減ure antisemitism.鈥�
The open letter condemns 鈥渋ncreasing attacks on the ICC, its staff and cooperating civil society groups,鈥� and identifies the Trump administration鈥檚 campaign against the court as part of a wider effort by high-profile pro-Israel groups.
鈥淲e witnessed with serious concern the executive order issued in the US by former president Donald Trump and the sanctions designated against the court鈥檚 staff and their family members,鈥� it read.
鈥淒eeply worrying is now the unwarranted public criticism of the court regarding its investigation of alleged crimes committed in the occupied Palestinian territory, including unfounded accusations of antisemitism,鈥� the letter added.
鈥淚t is well established and recognized that accountability for serious rights violations by all sides to a conflict is essential for achieving a sustainable and lasting peace. This is the case in Israel-Palestine, just as in Sudan, Libya, Afghanistan, Mali, Bangladesh/Myanmar, Colombia and Ukraine.
鈥淎ttempts to discredit the court and obstruct its work cannot be tolerated if we are serious about promoting and upholding justice globally.
鈥淲e understand fears of politically motivated complaints and investigations. Yet we strongly believe that the Rome statute guarantees the highest criteria of justice and provides a crucial avenue to address impunity for the world鈥檚 most serious crimes. Failure to act would have grave consequences.鈥�
The ICC probe has also faced criticism from major European countries, most notably Germany, which said the court 鈥渉as no jurisdiction because of the absence of the element of Palestinian statehood required by international law.鈥�
But Mogens Lykketoft, former Danish foreign minister and former president of the UN General Assembly, defended the ICC investigation, telling The Guardian: 鈥淎 rules-based global order is predicated upon the idea that violations of international law must be met with consequences.鈥�
The ICC 鈥渋s a crucial tool to that end, and it is incumbent upon us to protect its independence and strengthen its ability to work,鈥� he added.

鈥淐hallenging the independence of the court, on the contrary, challenges the protection of a global rules-based order.鈥�
The ICC鈥檚 investigation 鈥渃an be an important component of this, and the international community must do what it can to protect the independence of the court in carrying out its work,鈥� said Lykketoft.