ICC president hits back at 'attacks', 'threats'

A giant billboard featuring portraits of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in prison uniforms appears on a wall of a governmental building in downtown Tehran, Iran, on November 26, 2024. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issues arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes. (Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto) (Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP)

(AFP) - The president of the International Criminal Court lashed out Monday against attacks on the court, which finds itself under the spotlight after issuing arrest warrants over wars in Gaza and Ukraine.

The ICC has faced criticism in some quarters after judges issued an arrest warrant last month for Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defence minister, and a top Hamas leader.

ICC judges said there were "reasonable grounds" to suspect the three men of war crimes and crimes against humanity over the Hamas October 7 attacks and the subsequent Israeli military operation in Gaza.

Netanyahu described the decision as anti-Semitic, while US President Joe Biden slammed the warrants against the Israelis as "outrageous."

Addressing ICC members in the Hague, ICC President Tomoko Akane said the court faced "coercive measures, threats, pressure, and acts of sabotage."

"We are at a turning point in history... International law and international justice are under threat. So is the future of humanity," she added.

"The International Criminal Court will continue to carry out its lawful mandate, independently and impartially, without giving in to any outside interference," she pledged.

The ICC also has an arrest warrant pending for Russian President Vladimir Putin, with Moscow reacting with its own warrants for top court officials.

Some US Republicans have called on the Senate to sanction the ICC, which has 124 members -- not including the United States, Israel, or Russia.

In a thinly veiled reference to these actions, Akane said: "several elected officials are being severely threatened and are subjected to arrest warrants from a permanent member of the UN Security Council."

"The court is being threatened with draconian economic sanctions from institutions of another permanent member of the Security Council as if it was a terrorist organisation," she added.

It is "appalling" that countries appear "scandalised" when the ICC hands down arrest warrants based on international law, said Akane.

"If the court collapses, this will inevitably imply the collapse of all situations and cases... The danger for the court is existential."

© Agence France-Presse