Human rights organizations are breaking with ICC under American pressure'

It’s shameful.

Full translation:

At least 20 human rights organizations have had their cooperation with the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) since last year severely limited or completely discontinued.

This is evident from a tour of the research platform Investico and the German medium Süddeutsche Zeitung at a hundred non-profit organizations, in collaboration with the weekly magazine The Green Amsterdammer.

Many NGOs no longer dare to cooperate with the ICC as a result of the sanctions which the United States imposed on the ICC in February last year. For example, several human rights organizations have stopped cooperating because their contracts with American financiers prohibit them from doing so.

Several organizations have quietly stopped their work, writes Investico. This includes large organizations such as Human Rights Watch.

Restrictive sanctions

The ICC is hit hard by the sanctions, as was previously evident from research by news agency AP. US President Trump set those punitive measures in by decree, after the Court arrest warrants had issued against Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, among others, for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

That sanctions package consists of financial penalties and visa restrictions for people who help the ICC investigate US citizens and US allies such as Israel.

Due to the sanctions, employees no access more to their properties and assets in the US, such as money they have in a US bank account. They are also no longer allowed to purchase anything from American companies or use their services.

Recently, the Trump administration did another one there scoop on top, with new financial measures that will largely come into effect next year. In a video message, Foreign Minister Rubio said the US will ban “transactions with this unhinged court.”.

No evidence, no investigations

The organizations with strong local networks are indispensable in preparing criminal cases, as they provide, among other things, evidence, eyewitness accounts and new forms of evidence with which the Court can move forward. They are also often the first on site and can also share specialist expertise on local legislation.

“They are a very important part of our work,” former chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda told Investico. “They’re not researching for us, but they’re providing us with tips, allowing us to find ways to back up evidence.”

Bensouda worked for the ICC until 2021 and was herself hit by US sanctions when she was on a blacklist was set.

The number of organizations that have stopped cooperation may be higher. According to Investico, many NGOs openly refuse to speak to journalists about the consequences of the sanctions.

A number of organizations did. For example, Save the Children Netherlands has announced that it has difficulty finding a new form of collaboration. The platform Forensic Architecture says to reconsider working relationship with ICC.

Fear of more sanctions

Investigations that at first glance have nothing to do with the United States or Israel are also affected. “For example, it became a European organization that conducts investigations in East Africa, the Middle East and Ukraine, banned by an American donor from using his money for the benefit of the ICC,” writes Investico.

European organizations that are not directly covered by the sanctions have also stopped cooperation. “We cannot accept the risk of being sanctioned ourselves, and that this will endanger all our other work,” a German NGO tells the researchers.