UN hits back at Trump sanctions on ICC officials over probe of U.S. war crimes in Afghanistan

The United Nations on Friday hit back at a recent decision by the Trump administration to authorize sanctions against officials of the International Criminal Court over its investigation into whether U.S. troops committed war crimes in Afghanistan.

Top administration officials have said the U.S. believes Russia is behind the ICC’s actions targeting American troops for prosecution.

The ICC launched the investigation after prosecutors’ preliminary review in 2017 determined that war crimes may have been committed in Afghanistan and that the court has jurisdiction.

The executive order, signed by President Trump on Thursday, authorizes Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in consultation with Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin, to block assets in the U.S. of ICC employees involved in the probe. Mr. Pompeo also can block the targeted individuals from entering the U.S.

“The independence of the ICC and its ability to operate without interference must be guaranteed so that it can decide matters without any improper influence, inducement, pressures, threats or interference, direct or indirect, from any quarter or for any reasons,” Rupert Colville, spokesperson for U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said during a briefing Friday.

“Victims of gross human rights violations and serious violations of international humanitarian law and their families have the right to redress and the truth.”

Mr. Trump has repeatedly challenged the court’s right to prosecute U.S. personnel without American consent.

The ICC, based in The Hague in the Netherlands, has seen support from European allies who on Thursday pledged “unwavering support for the court as an independent and impartial judicial institution.”

Ten nations on the U.N. Security Council that are parties to the ICC accord, including the Britain, Germany and France, issued a statement on reiterating “commitment to uphold and defend the principles and values enshrined in the [ICC accord] and to preserve its integrity undeterred by any threats against the court, its officials and those cooperating with it.”