Costa Calls Attacks on ICC 'Unacceptable' as Withdrawals Mount
Antonio Costa told the UN General Assembly that threats and attacks on the International Criminal Court and its staff are unacceptable.
European Council President Antonio Costa used his address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York to defend international judicial institutions, declaring that threats and attacks against the International Criminal Court, its officials and staff are "unacceptable."
Speaking in French, Costa said there could be "no double standards when it comes to international rights," adding that deliberate violations of international law were being witnessed. He described the defence of international rights not as a choice but as a responsibility, and singled out the International Court of Justice and the ICC as institutions that give meaning to those principles.
"We strongly support them and will defend their independence, their integrity and their ability to fully exercise their mandate," he said. He added that responsibility cannot depend on considerations of political opportunity, and that international law, international humanitarian law and human rights apply everywhere.
His remarks come as Washington has intensified pressure on the court. In July, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced what he described as a sweeping campaign to dismantle the threat the ICC poses to US sovereignty. He said he would press the court's 125 member states to withdraw, sanction organisations working with it, and bar its staff from travelling to the United States.
The Trump administration has already sanctioned a dozen ICC staff members, a response to warrants issued for senior Israeli officials over the war in Gaza and to investigations involving US personnel in Afghanistan. In recent weeks, two more high-ranking staff members were sanctioned.
A small but growing number of member states have announced they will leave the tribunal. The recent departures of Venezuela and Chad bring to five the number of countries to pull out in the past year, joining Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
The withdrawals coincide with a leadership crisis at the court following the ouster of its own chief prosecutor. Established by the Rome Statute in 2002, the ICC sits in The Hague and acts as a court of last resort for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression, taking up cases when national authorities are unable or unwilling to prosecute.