03/11/2020 (Agence Europe) – On 2 November, seventy-two States – led by Germany – who are party to the Rome Statute denounced the US sanctions adopted in September against the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda, and the Director of the Division of Jurisdiction, Complementarity and Cooperation, Phakiso Mochochoko (see EUROPE 12553/19). As for the EU, only Hungary and Poland did not subscribe to this declaration read out before the UN General Assembly, which reaffirms the signatories’ “unwavering” support for the Court in its role “as an independent and impartial judicial institution”. “Sanctions are a tool to be used against those responsible for the most serious crimes and not against those who seek justice”, the denunciation continued. He added that “any attempt to undermine the independence of the Court should not be tolerated”. (CG)