UN rapporteur calls Trump's ICC sanctions a 'direct attack' on justice
Caption: Margaret Satterthwaite, UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers Photo: © UN Montenegro / Miloš Vujović
Margaret Satterthwaite, the UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, has sharply criticized US President Donald Trump’s sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC), describing them as a "direct assault on the international justice system."
In an interview with Anadolu, Satterthwaite discussed Trump’s decision to impose sanctions on ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan, the impact of these measures on the court’s operations, and what court member states should do in response.
“Direct attack on the international justice system. This is a court that was set up in order to once again try to found the primacy of law over conflict, over violence, and it’s a court that is set up to look at the very most grave crimes under international law. So sanctioning this entity and its principal officers is a direct attack on that rule of law institution and on the effort to end impunity for these very grave crimes,” according to Satterthwaite.
She warned that the impact of the sanctions would become clearer in the coming months, pointing out that Trump’s executive order imposes severe restrictions on ICC officials.
“It allows the US government to put in place very severe sanctions against individuals and the institution. So far, the president has only named Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan as a sanctioned person. This kind of sanction will allow the US government to freeze the transfer of funds.”
She also went into detail about the impact on the ICC’s chief prosecutor.
“As well as likely also placing a no-visa order to not allow this person to enter the US, which of course also would have an impact on the prosecutor’s ability to carry out his regular work, which involves coming to many countries, meeting with important justice actors, meeting with the UN, its officials, etc. So the immediate impact will be on the individual Karim Khan, but then we will see in the next weeks and months who else might be targeted for these sanctions.”
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