The UN on Friday stressed the importance of the International Criminal Court (ICC) following US President Donald Trump‘s move to sanction the ICC, urging that it be allowed to “work in full independence.”
“International criminal law is an essential element to fighting impunity, which is unfortunately widespread in today’s world,” UN spokesman Farhan Haq told a news conference, adding that “the International Criminal Court is its essential element, and it must be allowed to work in full independence.”
Trump on Thursday signed an executive order imposing sanctions on the ICC, claiming the court was taking “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel.”
Last November The Hague court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, citing war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip. Israel has killed more than 47,000 people in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023 and left it all but uninhabitable.
Asked about sanctions possibly affecting senior officials coming to UN headquarters in New York, Farhan said: “We trust that any restrictions taken against individuals would be implemented consistently with the host country’s obligations under the UN Headquarters Agreement.”
“Obviously, the headquarters agreement entails certain obligations on the host country and we expect them to follow through on those,” he added.
The agreement is a treaty between the UN and the host country, the US, signed in 1947. It details the legal framework governing the status, privileges, and immunities of UN Headquarters in New York City.