Trump administration to take tough stance
against International Criminal Court
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[September 10, 2018]
By Steve Holland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on
Monday will adopt an aggressive posture against the International
Criminal Court, threatening sanctions against ICC judges if they proceed
with an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by Americans in
Afghanistan.
President Donald Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, is to
make the announcement in a midday speech to the Federalist Society, a
conservative group, in Washington. It will be his first major address
since joining the Trump White House.
"The United States will use any means necessary to protect our citizens
and those of our allies from unjust prosecution by this illegitimate
court," Bolton will say, according to a draft of his speech seen by
Reuters.
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Bolton will also say that the State Department will announce the closure
of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) office in Washington out
of concern about Palestinian attempts to prompt an ICC investigation of
Israel.
"The United States will always stand with our friend and ally, Israel,"
says Bolton's draft text.
The Palestinians said they were undeterred from going to the ICC. They
described the planned PLO mission closure as the latest pressure tactic
by a Trump administration that has slashed funding to a U.N. agency for
Palestinian refugees and to hospitals in East Jerusalem, which
Palestinians want as capital of a future state.
"We reiterate that the rights of the Palestinian people are not for
sale, that we will not succumb to U.S. threats and bullying,"
Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said in a statement.
"Accordingly, we continue to call upon the International Criminal Court
to open its immediate investigation into Israeli crimes."
There was no immediate response from Israel, where government offices
were closed for the Jewish new year.
Bolton's draft speech says the Trump administration "will fight back" if
the ICC proceeds with opening an investigation into alleged war crimes
committed by U.S. service members and intelligence professionals during
the war in Afghanistan.
If such an inquiry goes ahead, the Trump administration will consider
banning judges and prosecutors from entering the United States, put
sanctions on any funds they have in the U.S. financial system and
prosecute them in American courts.
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The entrance of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is seen in
The Hague, Netherlands, March 3, 2011. REUTERS/Jerry Lampen/File
Photo
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"We will not cooperate with the ICC. We will provide no assistance
to the ICC. We will not join the ICC. We will let the ICC die on its
own. After all, for all intents and purposes, the ICC is already
dead to us," says Bolton's draft text.
In addition, the United States may negotiate more binding, bilateral
agreements to prohibit nations from surrendering Americans to The
Hague-based court, says the text.
The court's aim is to bring to justice the perpetrators of war
crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
The United States did not ratify the Rome treaty that established
the ICC in 2002, with then-President George W. Bush opposed to the
court. Bush's successor, President Barack Obama, took some steps to
cooperate with it.
"We will consider taking steps in the U.N. Security Council to
constrain the court’s sweeping powers, including to ensure that the
ICC does not exercise jurisdiction over Americans and the nationals
of our allies that have not ratified the Rome Statute," says
Bolton's draft text.
Palestinians have reacted with dismay to the U.S. funding cuts,
warning that they could lead to more poverty and anger - among
factors stoking their decades of conflict with Israel.
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Trump last week ordered that $25 million earmarked for the care of
Palestinians in East Jerusalem be directed elsewhere.
"This decision will create serious cash-flow problems at the
hospitals and will necessarily create delays in life-saving and
other urgent treatments," Walid Nammour, head of the network of six
hospitals affected, told reporters on Monday. "Overall, the decision
puts the health of 5 million Palestinians at risk."
(Additional reporting by Stephen Farrell in Jerusalem; Editing by
Mark Heinrich)
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