The following article by W. Owl was first published in Unity, the weekly paper of the Irish Communist Party.
NOT content with waging war militarily the United States has turned its attention to the International Criminal Court (ICC). The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio has declared he wants to dismantle it according to Raymond Murphy writing in the Irish Times-4.8.26. One of the favourite pastimes of the US is imposing sanctions whether it is on countries or individuals. In this case they have sanctioned court personnel including judges and prosecutors prompted by plans to investigate alleged war crimes committed by US forces in Afghanistan and Israel in Gaza. Murphy points out that the US was initially an advocate for the establishment of international courts, however from the beginning it has opposed the actual courts jurisdiction claiming that US soldiers and senior officials might be targets of politically motivated persecutions but now they seem to be more concerned about US political leaders being held to account.
The ICC can investigate and prosecute individuals' changed with the gravest crimes of concern to the international community where warranted. They include genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression. In what he describes as the current dysfunctional international system, the ICC is one of the few remaining institutions that can hold individuals to account for so-called atrocity crimes and acts when states are unable or unwilling to investigate and prosecute individuals. To this end its work is a vital part of the global fight to end impunity, and through international criminal justice it aims to hold those responsible accountable for their crimes and help prevent those crimes from happening again. Murphy writes that the US campaign could be described as a "forever wars" against the court citing 2002 when they sought to conclude agreements with other governments supportive of the ICC and not to surrender US nationals accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
In the same year it pushed through a UN Security Council resolution giving impunity to US personnel on peacekeeping operations. They went even further introducing legislation that authorised the president to use all means necessary and appropriate to free any of its personnel held by the court, the so-called Hague invasion act, which envisioned a Rambo-like rescue by special forces. Murphy adds that much to the chagrin of the US and Israel, the ICC has issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Israels offensive in Gaza. Murphy writes that the US campaign is part of a broader policy to undermine international law. The European Union has rejected the Trump administration's claim and described attacks or threats against the court, elected officials personnel or those cooperating with it as not acceptable but in all honesty, they could do nothing else.
He goes onto state that in the past, the US was justifiably accused hypocritically in relation to international law. Today there is no pretence; the policy is one of outright hostility.
The statements from the US are just the most recent manifestation of its antipathy towards international institutions, especially courts and the UN. He adds that US escalation of its campaign is a pre-emptive move against any action the court may take in respect of current or future US actions, including Venezuela, Iran, deportation of migrants or strikes on boats of alleged drug traffickers. Another factor is the important contribution international courts make to seeking the truth and establishing the facts, thus creating a historical record of what happened and exposing perpetrators to the scrutiny of the world. Perpetrators of atrocities have much to fear from those who speak the truth to power and so do their supporters.
Whilst if is not part of the UN nevertheless the UN was central to its creation and has been described as a critical cog in global justice efforts. Murphy dismisses Rubio's claim that the ICC threatens US sovereignty as self-serving and false.
He ends by writing that the ICC, in the long term is essential to have accountability and atonement for the crimes of the past without it there is no deterrent against future crimes and violations of human rights,