Mayors say US sanctions on ICC threaten the international legal order
The mayors of Amsterdam, The Hague and six other European cities want the European Commission to act after the US government announced sanctions against the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
The mayors of Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brussels, The Hague, Lille, Paris, Rome and Strasbourg have asked European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to protect the International Criminal Court (ICC) from US sanctions. They sent the letter on 27 October.
The eight cities host international organisations. The mayors say more than the court's future is at stake: the international legal order is too, and organisations that work for peace, justice and security worldwide are coming under pressure.
They ask Von der Leyen to state her support for the ICC clearly. They also want her to use the Commission's instruments and international network so that the court can keep working.
"It is our duty to ensure that they can do their work safely and independently," the mayors write. The US sanctions, they say, show that the cities cannot carry that responsibility alone.
Protecting such organisations is not only the job of the countries that host them, the mayors argue. "To ensure that the International Criminal Court can withstand this existential challenge, a coordinated European and global response is required." They add: "No one who serves justice should suffer for it."
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ICC (Internationaal Strafhof)
The International Criminal Court is a permanent international court that prosecutes individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. It is based on the Rome Statute and sits in The Hague, so it is one of the most visible international institutions in the Netherlands. Because it is a court rather than a national government, its work is often discussed in relation to international law and cooperation between countries.