Behind Washington's Aggressive Push to Cripple the International Criminal Court

Washington’s sanctions targeting the International Criminal Court (ICC) were announced just hours after Navi Pillay, one of its former judges, received the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.

Established in 2002, the ICC is tasked with prosecuting war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. To date, the tribunal has issued arrest warrants for more than 70 individuals, which include high-profile leaders such as Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

The United States has historically denounced the court, with tensions escalating significantly after arrest warrants were issued for Israeli officials. While Washington has previously imposed restrictive measures on ICC prosecutors and judges, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that this latest escalation aims to fundamentally cripple the court's operations.

As questions mount over Washington's fierce opposition to the institution, attention also turns to whether Europe will choose to defy the US and defend the court.

Presenter: Sami Zeidan

Guests:
Reed Brody – International human rights lawyer and member of the International Commission of Jurists, who participated in the 1998 Rome conference that created the ICC and has helped prosecute some of the world’s high-profile defendants
Nathalie Tocci – Professor of practice at Johns Hopkins SAIS Europe and a former special adviser to EU High Representatives Federica Mogherini and Josep Borrell
Suhail Khan – Republican political analyst, former senior political appointee with the Bush administration and a former policy adviser and counsel on Capitol Hill