© UN Photo/Loey Felipe
Threats by US lawmakers of retaliation against the International Criminal Court, as well as those that cooperate with it, in relation to potential charges against senior Israeli officials violate international law.
The announcement by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court that he will seek arrest warrants for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated by senior Israeli and Hamas officials is a positive development and an appropriate response to the overwhelming evidence of atrocity crimes committed in Gaza and Israel.
All States with a commitment to human rights, and to accountability for violations of international humanitarian and criminal law, should support and cooperate fully with the investigation and prosecution of such crimes.
Threats of retaliation, reprisals or sanctions against the ICC, its prosecutor or other officials, as well as against those who cooperate with the ICC to suppport such investigations and prosecutions, are prohibited under international law and are a flagrant violation of the right of all persons to communicate and cooperate with international bodies.
‘We condemn threats by US Republican lawmakers of retaliation and sanctions against the International Criminal Court, its prosecutor, Karim Khan, his associates, and their families over the decision to seek arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials accused of war crimes in Gaza,’ said ISHR Executive Director Phil Lynch.
ISHR is also deeply concerned at reports that representives of the Biden Administration, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security advisor Jake Sullivan, have said that the Administration is willing to work with Congress to enact potential penalties against the ICC in response to the application for an arrest warrant against senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
‘Threats against the ICC and its officials violate international law and amount to support for impunity for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. We call on all States to refrain from and unequivocally condemn such threats. We also call on relevant UN officials to investigate and publicly report on such threats as prohibited acts of intimidation or reprisal,’ Lynch said.
‘International law, and the credibility of States that invoke it, is at a critical juncture. We call on the US and all States to stand on the side of victims’ rights, justice and accountability, not on the side of lawlessness, atrocities and impunity.’
In light of the UN’s liquidity crisis since 2024, ISHR compares when UN Member States are paying their assessed contributions to the UN’s regular budget over the period 2019-2025.
ISHR analysed how UN Member States voted at the General Assembly Fifth Committee over the past seven years (2018-2024) on initiatives that seek to defund Human Rights Council (HRC) resolutions establishing investigative mechanisms on specific countries. None of these initiatives have so far been successful.
In a first-of-its-kind investigation into the closed-door negotiations of the UN’s budget in New York, ISHR uncovers how a small group of States - led by China and Russia - have coordinated efforts to block and slash funding for the UN’s human rights work through political manoeuvring and influence. At a moment of sweeping UN reform and financial crisis, these efforts - compounded by the US failure to pay their UN membership fees and outstanding debts - pose an existential threat to the UN’s human rights system.
