THE HAGUE, Aug. 19 — The Dutch government on Tuesday expressed its disapproval of the latest U.S. sanctions against officials of the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) and reaffirmed its full support for the court.
“International courts and tribunals must be able to freely carry out their mandates,” Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen said in a post on social media.
“We fully support the court and its staff,” Berendsen said, adding that he had invited ICC President Tomoko Akane to discuss the Netherlands’ continued support for the court.
The United States imposed sanctions on Tomoko Akane and senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye on Tuesday.
“These individuals have directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute officials whose government has not consented to ICC jurisdiction,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
In response, the ICC said the sanctions “undermine the rule of law.”(Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
