Nobel Peace Prize winner Navi Pillay has accused US President Donald Trump of ignorance of international law, saying he should seek guidance from his legal advisers after Washington imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Pillay, a former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and ex-ICC judge, described the sanctions as unlawful interference in the work of an independent international judicial institution.
“Call in your legal advisors to explain to you what international law is,” Pillay told AFP new agency when asked what message she had for Trump.
“He should call in his advisors to tell him why we say that it is unlawful for him to interfere with an independent international court.”
Her remarks came days after the US announced sanctions targeting the ICC, a move aimed at disrupting the court’s operations through restrictions affecting its banking and technology systems.
The measures are due to take effect in six months and form part of a broader campaign by Trump’s administration against the Hague-based court.
US officials have vowed to dismantle the ICC “brick-by-brick” following the court’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged crimes committed during the Gaza conflict.
The sanctions mark the latest escalation in long-standing tensions between Washington and the ICC.
The US is not a member of the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the court, and successive administrations have opposed investigations involving US nationals and those of key allies.
Supporters of the sanctions argue that the ICC has exceeded its mandate by pursuing cases involving countries that are not parties to the Rome Statute.
Critics, however, contend that efforts to weaken the court undermine international justice and accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
Pillay accused Washington of applying double standards, noting that previous US administrations had welcomed the ICC’s arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin while objecting to investigations involving Israel.
According to Pillay, the real objective of the Trump administration was to secure assurances that the ICC would not investigate American citizens or certain allies.
JN/APA