My Take | The International Criminal Court may finally be doing its job
- By issuing arrest warrants for leaders of both sides involved in the current carnage in Gaza, the ICC will restore its international prestige
The International Criminal Court has had a reputation of going after tinpot dictators and warlords from Africa. More recently, though, it seems to have grown a spine such as by pursuing Russian President Vladimir Putin. The West, of course, applauded. Now, though, the ICC may be going after one of its sacred cows. It’s widely believed arrest warrants are being prepared for top leaders of both Israel and Hamas for war crimes.
However, on Friday, the ICC released an official statement condemning efforts to “intimidate” the court. It came as Israel is readying an assault on Rafah that the UN humanitarian office has warned would be “a slaughter of civilians and an incredible blow to the humanitarian operation in the entire strip”. A million displaced Gazans are taking refuge there.
Without naming names, the ICC said: “Independence and impartiality are undermined when individuals threaten to retaliate against the court or against court personnel …
“Such threats … may constitute an offence against the administration of justice under Article 70 of the Rome Statute … The office insists that all attempts to impede, intimidate or improperly influence its officials cease immediately.”
The Rome Statute is the 1998 treaty that established the ICC to which neither Israel nor the United States are party.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier issued a statement: “The International Criminal Court in The Hague is contemplating issuing arrest warrants against senior Israeli government and military officials as war criminals. This would be an outrage of historic proportions.”