The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, denounced, on the evening of Thursday 3 September, the sanctions announced by the US administration against two members of the International Criminal Court (ICC), including its Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda (see EUROPE 12504/30).
Stating that the sanctions were “unacceptable and unprecedented measures that attempt to obstruct the Court's investigations and judicial proceedings”, Mr Borrell said the United States should reconsider its position and reverse the measures it has taken.
The ICC must be able to work in complete independence and impartiality “fundamental to the legitimacy of its judgments”, free from outside interference, he said. He added that impunity must never be an option.
“We will resolutely defend it (the ICC) from any attempts aimed at obstructing the course of justice and undermining the international system of criminal justice”, the High Representative warned. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)