Image: UN Photo/Loey Felipe
Slovenian call for EU response
The Slovenian government is calling for “a Principled and Coordinated EU Response” (pdf) to US government sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC) and Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The document, circulated to member state delegates on 3 October, calls on the EU “to stand united in defending those who serve justice on behalf of the international community.”
US sanctions
The US government has so far imposed sanctions on five ICC judges and prosecutors.
The sanctions were a response to the ICC issuing arrest warrants against Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
The arrest warrants were condemned by both the former Biden administration and the then-incoming Trump administration, with some US lawmakers calling for the US to invoke the ‘Hague Invasion Act’.
The Act, passed in 2002, allows the US president to “use all means necessary and appropriate” to liberate US citizes or US allies facing trial by the court.
Reports suggest that there may be further sanctions on the way against the ICC as a whole, rather than only individual officials.
The US government sanctions against Albanese are a response to her engagement with the ICC over Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza, as well as her denunciation of western government and corporate support for the Israeli authorities.
Those targeted by sanctions are barred from engaging in business with American companies and face restrictions on travel to the US.
Slovenia calls for “clear and principled EU voice”
The Slovenian document says:
These sanctions not only endanger the individuals concerned, including EU nationals, but strike at the heart of judicial independence and the international rule of law. At a time when multilateralism and accountability are under growing pressure, we believe it is essential for the EU to stand united in defending those who serve justice on behalf of the international community.
It continues:
A clear and principled EU voice is needed now more than ever. We therefore call for a dedicated Council discussion to examine how to protect the international rule of law and justice system.
The topic is not on the official agenda for the Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting.
The Slovenian government is calling for it to be addressed “briefly” as an “any other business” point at next week’s meeting, which will take place on Monday and Tuesday.
Denunciation of genocide
Slovenian president, Nataša Pirc Musar, has repeatedly described Israel’s two-year-long military assault on Gaza as a genocide.
She has called for the world to take meaningful action against Israel at events in Srebrenica, the European Parliament and, most recently, at the United Nations.
