The European Parliament is calling on the European Union to support the International Criminal Court (ICC).
A Feb. 6 executive order signed by U.S. President Donald J. Trump saw sanctions imposed on the ICC, causing concern to other nations. These sanctions included the suspension of entry for ICC officials, employees, and agents as well as their immediate family into the U.S.
In the order, Trump declares the ICC of having engaged in "illegitimate and baseless actions" toward the U.S. and Israel, citing the November warrant for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Former Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant.
The order also states the ICC has no jurisdiction over the U.S. or Israel, with neither nation being a member or signing party to the Rome Statute.
The European Parliament’s Sub-committee on Human Rights, held a press conference in Strasbourg, France, at 9 a.m. EST to voice concerns about how the sanctions further show wavering support for the ICC, along with the recent release of an alleged Libyan warlord.
Mournir Satouri, chair of the Sub-committee on Human Rights, said they are calling out in particular to the European Commission, the EU’s primary executive arm, to stand with the ICC and ensure international law is upheld.
He said international justice at a global level is at stake, and because international law is the founding value of the EU, it needs to stand against anything upsetting its balance.
Satouri said the ICC is there to fight impunity, and for holding international criminals and war criminals responsible for their actions and ensuring reparations for victims.
He said European leaders need to be reminded of the Rome Statute and they are obligated to proactively work and cooperate with the ICC.
He said that this obligation has not been respected after the release of Osama Almasri Najim, head of Libya's judicial police, and an alleged warlord who the ICC had issued an arrest warrant for.
Satouri said Najim was located in Italy but was sent back to Libya without trial.
David Yambio, a surviving victim of Najim’s alleged war crimes and the President of the Refugees in Libya Association, explained the importance of the ICC for people who have experienced the effects of international and war criminal actions.
“For us, this is the beginning of justice, the place to tell what we have experienced on our bodies and to think together what justice could mean and look up the institutions that have been entrusted in ensuring criminals are held accountable and victims find justice,” he said.
Yambio said he was a child soldier in Sudan who fled to Libya for refuge but found none.
“When I fled to Libya, I was tortured, enslaved and dehumanized beyond my comprehension,” he said.
Yambio said he was sold into slavery in Libya, where he was forced to work construction and carry munitions to the front lines of war zones.
He said he documented everything in hopes that justice would be served by international judicial bodies like ICC, and is angry that after everything he went through, Najim was freed.
“When he was apprehended, instead of marching him to the International Criminal Court to face accountability and justice, he was smuggled away back to Libya where he will continue to commit mass crimes against the Libyan people, against humanity and against migrants,” he said.
