European Union (EU) leaders, on Wednesday, expressed firm support for the International Criminal Court (ICC), following sanctions imposed by the United States (U.S.) on two senior court officials.
The U.S. sanctions came on August 17 before the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa reaffirmed their backing for the ICC.
In separate posts on social media platform X, the EU leaders said they stood firmly with the ICC, its President Tomoko Akane and other officials working to uphold the court’s mandate.
“The ICC helps deliver justice to the victims of some of the world’s most horrific crimes,” they said.
They added that ICC judges and officials must be allowed to perform their duties independently and without external pressure.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump earlier on Tuesday imposed sanctions on Akane, a Japanese national, and Abdoulaye Seye, a Senegalese national and senior trial lawyer at the ICC.
The U.S. government accused the two officials of directly engaging in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain or prosecute officials whose governments had not consented to the court’s jurisdiction.
The sanctions generally prohibit U.S. nationals from conducting transactions with Akane and Seye and restrict the two officials from accessing the U.S. financial system.
