US ENDS SANCTIONS, VISA RESTRICTIONS AGAINST INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT STAFF

Sat 03 April 2021:

The United States ended the sanctions and visa restrictions it had imposed on personnel of the International Criminal Court, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Friday.

“Today, President [Joe] Biden revoked Executive Order 13928 on ‘Blocking Property of Certain Persons Associated with the International Criminal Court (ICC),’ ending the threat and imposition of economic sanctions and visa restrictions in connection with the Court,” Blinken said.

“Much as we disagree with the ICC’s actions relating to the Afghanistan and Palestinian situations, the administration is thoroughly reviewing sanctions pursuant to Executive Order 13928 as we determine our next steps,” the report quoted an unnamed State Department spokesperson as saying.

“As a result, the sanctions imposed by the previous administration against ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and Phakiso Mochochoko, the Head of the Jurisdiction, Complementarity and Cooperation Division of the Office of the Prosecutor, have been lifted.”

The Biden administration also terminated the policy from 2019 that imposed visa restrictions on certain ICC personnel, Blinken added.

Last January, Israel expressed concern that the Biden administration might reconsider the sanctions imposed by the Trump administration on the ICC Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, and a top deputy over plans to investigate war crimes committed by US personnel in Afghanistan as well as crimes committed by Israel against the Palestinians.

In June 2020, Trump issued an executive order authorizing the imposition of economic sanctions against any ICC officials participating in the investigation of “allied personnel without that ally’s consent.”