WED Reaffirms the Importance of the International Criminal Court

The World Embassy Desk is concerned by the call made by President Donald Trump before the United Nations General Assembly for States to withdraw from the International Criminal Court.

The ICC is not beyond criticism, and like every international institution it must remain accountable, independent and faithful to its legal mandate. Weakening or dismantling the Court, however, is a fundamentally different matter.

The international community created a system of international criminal justice because history repeatedly demonstrated what can happen when those exercising political or military power are able to commit the gravest crimes without any credible prospect of individual accountability. The principles developed after the atrocities of the Second World War established that even Heads of State and senior government officials can be held personally responsible for crimes under international law.

The ICC carries that principle forward. Its jurisdiction concerns the most serious crimes of concern to the international community: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.

For victims of mass atrocities, international justice cannot depend solely on whether the State in which those crimes occurred is willing or able to prosecute those responsible. An independent international court therefore remains an essential safeguard against impunity, particularly where those accused of serious crimes themselves exercise considerable political or military power.

WED believes that States should strengthen international criminal justice and, where necessary, improve its institutions rather than abandon them. History has shown why such mechanisms were created. The world should be very cautious about dismantling them.