US punishes International Criminal Court for investigating potential war crimes in Afghanistan

The Trump administration has sought to weaken or abandon various international agencies since 2016. Now it’s taking aim at the International Criminal Court, a global tribunal that investigates and prosecutes war crimes, torture and genocide.Claiming the ICC’s investigation into alleged war crimes by U.S. forces in Afghanistan poses a national security threat, President Donald Trump issued an executive order on June 11 effectively criminalizing anyone who works at the ICC. Its lawyers, judges, human rights researchers and staff could now have their U.S. bank accounts frozen, U.S. visas revoked and travel to the U.S. denied. On Sept. 2, Sec. State Mike Pompeo announced the new sanctions would be applied for the first time, against ICC special prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and her top aide. The executive order does not target U.S. citizens. But Americans can be sanctioned if they “materially support” the ICC by, say, filing an amicus brief to support a case. Such language usually applies to foreign terrorist organizations and their enablers – not human rights lawyers. The retired Gen. Wesley Clark called Trump’s order a “tragic mistake” in foreign policy. He says the U.S. “has nothing to fear from the ICC,” which exists to deter and punish the kinds of atrocities committed by Germany and Japan during World War II.I am an international human rights lawyer who has defended and advocated for victims of gross human rights violations in American courts and at the United Nations. For these people, the ICC is the only real means to hold their persecutors accountable, even if few of them will ever set foot in the court. Brief history of the ICCThe ICC is the only criminal court with near global jurisdiction. Since its founding in 2002 in The Hague, it has successfully prosecuted over 40 high-ranking politicians, warlords and heads of state for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Those imprisoned include Thomas Lubanga, a warlord who recruited child soldiers and forced them to fight in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Bosco Ntaganda, convicted of rape, murder and sexual slavery in the same conflict. The ICC also issues warrants for the arrests of leaders who’ve fled the court’s justice, such as Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir, who stands charged with genocide for the rape, killing and torture of civilians in Darfur. Fugitive suspects are prosecuted by the ICC if and when they are extradited to The Hague.Occasionally, special war tribunals are established outside the ICC to prosecute specific cases in specific countries. Recently, a special international tribunal convicted a Hezbollah member for the 2005 assassination of Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. Together, the ICC and these complementary special tribunals enforce international human rights law. The ICC is a court of last resort. It acts only when national governments cannot or will not investigate and prosecute war crimes. Its jurisdiction is intentionally narrow. It means countries with a strong rule of law need not fear international investigation. US fearful of international justiceIn the early 1990s, the U.S. was deeply involved in United Nations negotiations in the Rome Statute, the treaty that created the ICC. But in 1998 President Bill Clinton decided not to ask Congress to ratify the Rome Statute, claiming there was no protection against “politicized prosecutions.” Despite not being one of the court’s 123 member countries, the U.S. has often facilitated the ICC’s work. Successive U.S. administrations have imposed a series of sanctions against people under ICC investigation, including members of the Assad regime suspected of committing war crimes in Syria. The U.S. has also championed the ICC’s ongoing examination of crimes committed by the Taliban in Afghanistan and its investigation of Myanmar for possible genocide against the Rohingya Muslims. The U.S. also got involved in the hunt for the infamous Ugandan guerrilla leader Joseph Kony, who was indicted by the ICC in 2005 for using children as sex slaves and insurgents.But some of the ICC’s newest cases hit close to home.One is a pending investigation of American military actions in Afghanistan between 2003 and 2004. Dozens of people claim to have been tortured during interrogation by the CIA in “black sites” created by the Bush administration. Two current Guantanamo detainees, Sharqawi Al Hajj and Guled Duran, who are represented by legal counsel, have provided detailed testimonies to the ICC.Another is the ICC’s investigation into possible crimes by Israel related to Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israel, like its ally the U.S., is not a member of the ICC.In May, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned the ICC to end its “illegitimate” probes into the U.S. and Israel or else face “consequences.” Limited jurisdictionThe ICC persisted, saying the U.S. could fend off the ICC by investigating the alleged war crimes itself.“The I.C.C. is not intent on ‘hauling’ Americans up to trial before it,” wrote ICC president Eboe-Osujiin in a June 18 New York Times op-ed responding to Trump’s Executive Order. It is simply committed to seeing credible claims against U.S. security personnel in Afghanistan investigated, Eboe-Osuji said.But the U.S., like Israel, has refused to acknowledge that war crimes may have been committed. Such standoffs trigger ICC involvement as the court of last resort. Historically, the International Criminal Court has almost exclusively prosecuted individuals from weaker nations, primarily in Africa. Some critics have dubbed it the “African criminal court.” Yet most African countries, like other ICC members, remain supportive of the court’s work.[Insight, in your inbox each day. You can get it with The Conversation’s email newsletter.]The ICC is also a slow, cumbersome and expensive form of justice. It has spent over US$1.2 billion over the past 12 years to successfully punish only three individuals of the dozens it has prosecuted. But the court’s importance goes beyond its verdicts. Without its watchful eye and long arm, war criminals would roam free. In undermining its work, the Trump administration claims to protect American security. But if the U.S. won’t cooperate with the ICC in international criminal investigations of its own citizens, other countries are less likely to help when the U.S. wants terrorists and war criminals brought to justice.This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.Read more: * Banning mobile phones in immigration detention would make an inhumane system even crueler * Australians don’t have a ‘right’ to travel. Does COVID mean our days of carefree overseas trips are over?Susan M. Akram does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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Duped by Russia, freelancers ensnared in disinformation campaign by promise of easy money

When freelance journalist Laura Walters submitted a 1,000 word article about Chinese political influence in New Zealand to her new editors at non-profit media outlet Peace Data, the response was emphatic. "I'd like to express our deep gratitude for your work," wrote Peace Data communications manager Alice Schultz in a June 15 email seen by Reuters. "It's hard to believe how totalitarian countries like China (or Russia) are finding their ways to meddle even in the strongest democracies around the globe."

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Fox News Breaking News Alert

Fox News Breaking News Alert

Tom Seaver, who won 311 games and three Cy Young awards during his Hall of Fame baseball career, has died at 75, according to hi

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Tom Seaver, Pitcher Who Led ‘Miracle Mets’ to Glory, Dies at 75.

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"I don't recall": Pence tells Fox News he can't remember if he was on standby for Trump

Mike Pence gives a halting and evasive answer when pressed about reports on Trump’s mysterious visit to Walter Reed

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International Criminal Court officials sanctioned by US

The chief prosecutor at the Hague-based ICC, Fatou Bensouda, is among those sanctioned.

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University of California system can no longer consider SAT, ACT results in admissions, judge rules

A judge in California ruled that the system's "test optional" policy unfairly disadvantaged students with disabilities who could not access the SAT and ACT.

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Former friend of Melania Trump says the first lady painted a rosy picture of facilities holding migrant children

First lady Melania Trump knew exactly what she was doing when she wore a jacket that read "I DON'T REALLY CARE, DO U?" while traveling to and from a Texas facility holding migrant children, her former friend and adviser Stephanie Winston Wolkoff says.In her new book, Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with the First Lady, Winston Wolkoff said this attire was chosen specifically to "get the media's attention. Otherwise, no one would have covered the story."The trip took place in June 2018, and Winston Wolkoff said she later spoke with Trump about what she saw at the facility. The first lady told her people were going "crazy about the zero-tolerance policy at the border," but it wasn't as horrible as it sounded.Stating that she was directly quoting Trump, Winston Wolkoff writes that Trump said the children she met were "brought in by coyotes, the bad people who are trafficking, and that's why the kids were put in shelters. They're not with their parents, and it's sad. But the patrols told me the kids say, 'Wow I get a bed? I will have a cabinet for my clothes?' It's more than they have in their own country where they sleep on the floor. They are taking care nicely there."Winston Wolkoff writes that Trump went on to say mothers taught their children to tell border agents, "I'm going to be killed by gangs!" so they would be allowed into the United States. "They are using that line and it's not true," she said Trump told her. "They don't want to stay in Mexico because Mexico doesn't take care of them the same as America does."Speaking with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow on Tuesday night, Winston Wolkoff said these were the first lady's exact words, and there is "no way to fabricate any of my story."More stories from theweek.com Pelosi says San Francisco salon 'owes me an apology for setting me up' The poisonous lessons of a potential Trump victory CDC 'urgently' tells states to get coronavirus vaccine distribution running by Nov. 1

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U.S. Republicans criticize Pelosi over hair appointment

U.S. Republicans criticized House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday for going to a hair salon in San Francisco in an apparent violation of the city's coronavirus pandemic regulations, but the Democratic leader said she had been told by the salon the appointment was allowed. Pelosi briefly addressed the issue to reporters in San Francisco, saying, "I take responsibility for falling for a set-up." Under strict rules to combat the coronavirus pandemic, hair salons in San Francisco were still prohibited from admitting customers on Monday, when Pelosi had her appointment, although salons elsewhere in the state and across much of the country were already open.

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Residents in Kenosha are dismayed at law enforcement's response to the Jacob Blake shooting and protests: 'They just let the fires burn'

During nights of civil unrest, parts of the city burned as armed citizens attempted to protect their properties from being destroyed.

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Beijing pillories Pentagon report on Chinese military ambitions

China on Wednesday condemned a Pentagon report for claiming Beijing wants to double its stockpile of nuclear warheads within a decade as it seeks to deter the United States from any intervention linked to Taiwan.

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Moon booster rocket fired up in critical test

Engineers in Utah fire up a booster rocket that will help send astronauts back to the Moon.

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U.S. Attorney General Barr says antifa 'flying around' U.S. to incite violence

U.S. Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday said the Justice Department was monitoring the protest movement antifa, saying that it is at the heart of violence in cities around the country. "I've talked to every police chief in every city where there has been major violence and they all have identified antifa as the ramrod for the violence," Barr said in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "We see some of the purchases they are making before the riots of weapons to use in those riots," Barr added.

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Nancy Pelosi says she was victim of 'setup' in hair salon mask dispute

* House speaker says San Francisco salon owes her apology * Pelosi was photographed in salon without a face covering * Coronavirus – latest updates * See all our coronavirus coverageNancy Pelosi has claimed to have been “set up”, after she was photographed in a San Francisco hair salon without a face covering, breaking the city’s coronavirus prevention rules.“I take responsibility for trusting the word of the neighborhood salon that I’ve been to many times,” the House speaker said on Wednesday afternoon, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. “It was a setup, and I take responsibility for falling for a setup.”Salons in San Francisco have been closed during the coronavirus pandemic, with limited outdoor operations beginning only on Tuesday.Security camera footage obtained by Fox News showed Pelosi, the House speaker and the most powerful Democrat in Washington, walking through the e Salon SF with a mask around her neck. The footage was filmed on Monday.Pelosi has regularly told US citizens to wear masks and follow guidelines intended to limit the spread of coronavirus.The salon’s owner, Erica Kious, said one of her hairstylists who rented a chair at the business opened it specially for Pelosi’s appointment.“It was a slap in the face that she went in, you know, that she feels that she can just go and get her stuff done while no one else can go in, and I can’t work,” Kious told Fox News.“We have been shut down for so long, not just me, but most of the small businesses and I just can’t – it’s a feeling … of being deflated, helpless and honestly beaten down.”Kious said that according to her interpretation of coronavirus safety precautions, blow-drying hair was prohibited.“I have been fighting for six months for a business that took me 12 years to build to reopen,” she said. “I am a single mom, I have two small children, and I have no income. We’re supposed to look up to this woman, right? It is just disturbing.”A spokesman for Pelosi, Drew Hammill, said: “This business offered for the speaker to come in on Monday and told her they were allowed by the city to have one customer at a time in the business.“The speaker complied with the rules as presented to her by this establishment.”Donald Trump weighed in, tweeting that Pelosi was “being decimated for having a beauty parlor opened, when all others are closed, and for not wearing a mask – despite constantly lecturing everyone else”.Trump has recommended that people wear masks and has occasionally worn one himself. He has also resisted calls for a national mask mandate and last week staged a Republican convention at which coronavirus prevention measures were at best inconsistently observed.Pelosi, who has called Trump’s stance on masks “cowardly”, fired back.“I think that this salon owes me an apology for setting me up,” she said, adding that she had been “inundated” with comments from people in the hair service industry, thanking her “for calling attention to this” and saying “We need to get back to work”.“Many [are] annoyed at the setup,” she said, “that was there for a purpose that has nothing to do with ending the crisis.”Pelosi said she had worn her mask round her neck because she had “just had my hair washed. I don’t wear a mask when I’m washing my hair. Do you wear a mask when you’re washing your hair? I always wear a mask … And that picture is when I just came out of the bowl.”

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US soldiers jailed for Venezuela coup attempt seek pardon

Two US special forces soldiers jailed in Venezuela for trying to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro are seeking an official pardon for early release, The Telegraph has learned. Former US Green Berets Luke Denman and Airan Berry were given 20 years each for their role in a botched operation to kidnap Mr Maduro and bring him to the US for trial. The court hearing against them earlier this month took place behind closed doors with no lawyers present. However, the families of the two men were already in talks with Mr Maduro's officials with a view to pleading for clemency. In July they asked Bill Richardson, a former Democrat senator and diplomatic trouble-shooter for President Clinton, to make a private visit to Caracas to lobby on their behalf. He runs his own non-profit organisation, the Richardson Centre, which works to secure the release of US citizens detained around the world.

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Biden suggests having a live fact-checker during presidential debates

While making remarks on Wednesday in Wilmington, Del., former Vice President Joe Biden suggested he would like a crawl during the televised presidential debates that fact-checks him and President Trump.

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Boston University won't notify professors if a student in their class tested positive for the coronavirus, and faculty and students are not happy about it

A Boston University professor accused the administration of taking an "individualized" approach to a "community health problem in too many ways."

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