UN Expert Calls for End to Double Standards Against ICC
WASHINGTON – A UN human rights expert on Wednesday urged countries to stop applying double standards against the International Criminal Court (ICC). The call follows US sanctions on ICC judges who issued arrest warrants for Israeli officials accused of war crimes in the Gaza Strip.
Margaret Satterthwaite, UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, told reporters at UN headquarters in New York that the ICC’s work shows that all individuals—both victims and alleged perpetrators—should be treated equally under the law. “It is time to end the double standards. International justice either applies to everyone or it fails entirely,” she said.
Satterthwaite warned that threats and sanctions against the ICC encourage impunity and interfere with the work of human rights defenders. She described these actions as “incompatible with international law” and stressed the need to protect the court’s independence.
The US sanctioned four ICC officials in August, including a judge who approved arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing financial and visa restrictions on ICC staff and anyone assisting investigations into war crimes by the US or its allies, including Israel.
NEWS DESK
PRESS UPDATE