The International Criminal Court (ICC) has long been a source of controversy in political circles, especially among the major powers which fear that their leaders or armed forces will be indicted on war crimes charges. To the Israeli occupation state, the court represents a potential threat due to its investigations into violations committed in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. As for the US, its relationship with the ICC has always been complicated, as it did not adopt the Rome Statute that established the court. Sometimes it supports the ICC — as it did with the arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin — while at other times it attacks it if the cases affect its own interests or those of its allies, especially Israel.
A controversial recent development has seen Israel and the US threaten human rights organisations, especially with regard to possible action at the ICC. These threats also include sanctions against the court and its staff, as well as withdrawing from human rights institutions.
Such moves raise many questions about the impact on international justice, fundamental human rights principles and global power relations, especially after US President Donald Trump announced a series of measures and sanctions on the ICC because of its arrest warrants issued for Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant on war crimes charges. These sanctions include financial and visa restrictions, and even the prosecution of court officials.
The US withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council in 2018, accusing it of bias against Israel.
Now Israel has done the same; it will not cooperate with international human rights institutions. This move reflects a growing trend by some countries to reduce their commitment to human rights, which will inevitably lead to the weakening of the international justice system and its effectiveness.
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The ICC is one of the few tools available to hold perpetrators of major crimes accountable, but if pressure and sanctions continue, the court may lose its power and be unable to do its job. This opens the door to impunity, with a world governed by the law of the jungle. If the US and Israel are able to treat international laws and conventions with contempt, the message to the rest of the world is that anyone else can as well. This will embolden authoritarian countries to commit more violations without fear of the consequences.
If this trend is allowed to continue unchecked, international chaos beckons. It is important for pressure by Washington and Tel Aviv to be resisted, and more countries and international human rights organisations need to call for the role of the ICC to be strengthened. The EU has expressed support for the court, insisting that it is an independent institution that must operate without political pressure. The Europeans know that the basis of the attacks against the ICC stem from Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
Threats and withdrawals from international human rights institutions pose major challenges to the justice system based on international law.
When governments refuse to cooperate in enforcing the law on the pretext of violating their interests and sovereignty, then international investigations are disrupted, and the quest for justice suffers. Reforms may be necessary to ensure the independence of the ICC from political pressure, but at the same time there must be an international commitment to support such institutions (as well as the International Court of Justice, for example) and not punish them simply for doing what they were established to do, even if that is unpalatable to major powers.
Israeli and US attacks on the International Criminal Court pose a serious threat to the very principle of international justice. In a world full of rising tension, if the international community does not come together to protect such institutions and ensure that they are able to perform their essential role in achieving justice and holding perpetrators of major crimes accountable, the world will be facing many more massacres being committed with impunity.
This article first appeared in Arabic in Arabi21 on 17 February 2024.
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