EFF condemns US sanctions on ICC judges as a brazen attack on global justice

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has hit out at the US government’s latest extension of sanctions against judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The Trump administration, which has repeatedly imposed punitive measures against the ICC and its staff, has now targeted two additional judges. This follows their rejection of a challenge by Israel, which sought to end a war crimes probe in Gaza. These latest actions bring the total to eight ICC judges and at least three prosecutors sanctioned by the current US administration.

AN ATTACK ON JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE
The EFF has labelled the move a brazen attack on judicial independence. The party argues it is an attempt by a non-state party to the Rome Statute to interfere with an international institution tasked with ending impunity for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

According to the party, these sanctions are part of a broader pattern of US behaviour that:

Undermines international law.

Weakens multilateral institutions.

Protects allies from accountability, even in the face of credible allegations of grievous violations.

IMPLICATIONS FOR GLOBAL SECURITY
The EFF maintains that this conduct has significant implications for global peace and security, warning that the intimidation of judicial bodies sets a dangerous precedent.

“By wielding sanctions as an instrument to intimidate and coerce independent judicial bodies, the United States sets a precedent that emboldens those who commit atrocities, weakens the rule of law, and diminishes the prospects for victims of the world’s gravest crimes to see justice done,” the party stated.

“Under the Trump administration, we have witnessed an increase in aggression, coercive diplomacy, and a reckless expansion of US imperial interests that destabilises the international order and jeopardises the safety of the global majority.”

A CALL FOR GLOBAL ACTION
The EFF has called on all US allies and democratic governments to isolate and chastise the United States to counter what it describes as interference in the work of the ICC.

“The world cannot tolerate a system where the powerful decide who is subject to justice and who is above it.”