Over 60 nations come to defense of International Criminal Court as it faces U.S. sanctions

A majority of the members of the International Criminal Court on Tuesday defended the lone global war crimes court as it faces threats of U.S. sanctions.

President Trump signed an executive order earlier this month authorizing sanctions against officials of the ICC over its investigation into whether U.S. troops committed war crimes in Afghanistan.

The Hague-based ICC announced in March that it would allow prosecutors to open an investigation targeting not only current and former U.S. military, CIA and diplomatic personnel, but also the Taliban, and Afghan government forces for war crimes and crimes against humanity during the nearly two-decade long conflict.

The decision, marking the first time the court’s 18-year history that prosecutors have been authorized to investigate U.S. forces, flew in the face of longtime rejections by American officials to the court’s jurisdiction. Mr. Trump has repeatedly challenged the court’s right to prosecute U.S. personnel without American consent.

In a joint statement backed by 67 of the 123 ICC members, the countries on Tuesday said they “reconfirm our unwavering support for the court as an independent and impartial judicial institution,” Reuters reported.

The Trump administration’s move has seen pushback from the United Nations and several allies on the U.N. Security council. Earlier this month, 10 nations that are parties to the ICC accord, including Britain, Germany and France, issued a statement 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.”