President Trump is a servile lapdog to PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his Genocidal Apartheid State, Israel. Felon47 is eager to develop real estate in Gaza, as his son-in-law Jared Kushner suggested in March 2024. Not to mention the oil and gas reserves outside Gaza in the broader Levant Basin in the Eastern Mediterranean – 1.7 billion oil barrels and 122 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Human Rights Watch: Trump Indicates Intent to Escalate Ethnic Cleansing in Gaza
President Donald Trump’s statement on February 4 that the United States would “take over” the Gaza Strip and that the Palestinian population there would need to be moved out would, if implemented, amount to an alarming escalation of forced displacement and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza.
“Standing beside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose government was responsible for this policy and is wanted for atrocity crimes by the International Criminal Court, President Donald Trump suggested displacing Palestinians on an even larger scale and ‘taking over’ Gaza as potential US policy in light of the destruction in Gaza. It would move the US from being complicit in war crimes to direct perpetration of atrocities.”
Trump’s statements on Gaza have been widely rejected, not just by neighboring countries, such as Egypt and Jordan, but by many other governments, including Germany, Australia, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Brazil, China, and Russia, as well as the United Nations human rights office.
Governments should together make clear their strong opposition to Trump’s call for forced displacement in Gaza and take action to prevent further atrocities against the Palestinian people,” – Lama Fakih, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch.
79 countries slam Trump’s International Criminal Court Sanctions
“Such measures increase the risk of impunity for the most serious crimes and threaten to erode the international rule of law, which is crucial for promoting global order and security,” the statement said.
“Sanctions could jeopardize the confidentiality of sensitive information and the safety of those involved—including victims, witnesses, and court officials, many of whom are our nationals,” the countries said.
Joint Statement in support of the International Criminal Court (ICC) New York, 7 February 2025
This statement in support of the International Criminal Court is endorsed by the following States: Afghanistan, Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cabo Verde, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Iceland, Ireland, Jordan, Latvia, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Maldives, Malta, Mexico, Republic of Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Namibia, Netherlands, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Norway, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, State of Palestine, Sweden, Switzerland, Timor-Leste, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Vanuatu.
We, the undersigned States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), reaffirm our continued and unwavering support for the independence, impartiality, and integrity of the ICC. The Court serves as a vital pillar of the international justice system by ensuring accountability for the most serious international crimes, and justice for victims.
Today, the Court is facing unprecedented challenges. Measures sanctioning the Court, its officials and staff, and those cooperating with it [have been] adopted in response to the Court carrying out its mandate in accordance with the Rome Statute.
Such measures increase the risk of impunity for the most serious crimes and threaten to erode the international rule of law, which is crucial for promoting global order and security. Moreover, sanctions could jeopardize the confidentiality of sensitive information and the safety of those involved—including victims, witnesses, and Court officials, many of whom are our nationals.
Sanctions would severely undermine all situations currently under investigation as the Court may have to close its field offices. Advancing the ICC’s vital work serves our common interest in promoting accountability, as evidenced by the support provided to the Court by both States Parties and non-States Parties.
As strong supporters of the ICC, we regret any attempts to undermine the Court’s independence, integrity, and impartiality. We are committed to ensuring the ICC’s business continuity so that the Court can continue to carry out its functions effectively and independently.
As we collectively strive to uphold international justice, we underscore the ICC’s indispensable role in ending impunity, promoting the rule of law, and fostering lasting respect for international law and human rights.
In response to the executive order announced today by President Trump imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said:
“This reckless action sends the message that Israel is above the law and the universal principles of international justice. It suggests that President Trump endorses the Israeli government’s crimes and is embracing impunity.
“Today’s executive order is vindictive. It is aggressive. It is a brutal step that seeks to undermine and destroy what the international community has painstakingly constructed over decades, if not centuries: global rules that apply to everyone and aim to deliver justice for all. The sanctions constitute another betrayal of our common humanity.
“The United States is ready to punish an institution that ensures the individuals most responsible for committing atrocities cannot escape justice. No one responsible for crimes under international law should be protected or aided in their attempts to escape individual accountability, least of all with the assistance of the US government based on President Trump’s political alliances.”
“At an historic moment when we are witnessing a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, and the global rule of law coming under threat from multiple fronts, institutions like the Court are needed more than ever to advance human rights protections, prevent future atrocities and secure justice for victims.
No one responsible for crimes under international law should be protected or aided in their attempts to escape individual accountability, least of all with the assistance of the US government based on President Trump’s political alliances.
– Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General
“This attack against the ICC seeks to damage the Court’s independent pursuit of international justice. The sanctions issued will harm accountability, a crucial ingredient to global and long-term security. They will embolden perpetrators, present and future. They will negatively impact the interests of all victims globally and those who look to the Court for justice in all the countries where it’s conducting investigations, including Darfur, Libya, the Philippines, Palestine, Ukraine, and Venezuela.
“The ICC performs a vital role by investigating crimes under international law, often committed by the most powerful individuals, in situations where – without its involvement – the perpetrators would benefit from perpetual impunity. The sanctions are also an affront to 125 member states who have collectively resolved that the Court must be able to effectively pursue justice – which means it must be able to undertake independent judicial functions, such as issuing arrest warrants, for example, against Benjamin Netanyahu or Vladimir Putin.
“Governments around the world and regional organizations must do everything in their power to mitigate and block the effect of President Trump’s sanctions. ICC member states can protect the Court and its staff through collective and concerted actions. Urgent action is needed, like never before.”
Background information:
On 14 January, Amnesty International, the Coalition for the International Criminal Court, and more than 140 of its member NGOs and coalitions from around the world issued a joint statement opposing US efforts to impose sanctions related to the ICC and urging member states to defend the Court, its officials, and those cooperating with it from measures aimed at undermining its vital mandate for justice.
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