Adopting an aggressive posture toward International Criminal Court, US will threaten to use sanctions against its judges if they proceed with an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by Americans in Afghanistan.

IranPress/America-  US President’s national security adviser John Bolton  is to make this announcement on Monday, in Washington as International court probes possible war crimes in Afghanistan, including by the US.

"The United States will use any means necessary to protect our citizens and those of our allies from unjust prosecution by this illegitimate court," Bolton will say, according to a draft of his speech seen by Reuters.

Bolton will also say that the State Department will announce the closure of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) office in Washington out of concern about Palestinian attempts to prompt an ICC investigation of Israel.

Hague-based prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) believe that crimes against humanity were committed by the Taliban and its affiliated Haqqani Network, and that war crimes of torture were carried out by Afghan government forces, and by US military forces and the CIA. 

Submissions have been collected by the non-profit group “Reprieve,” and given to the ICC on behalf of Afghans who accuse the US of mistreatment. 

The ICC was established in 1998 as part of the Rome Statue and given the power to investigate genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Several major countries, including the United States and Russia, do not intend to cooperate with the court and believe they have no legal obligations arising from any court decision.

This is not the first time that US, under Trump is turning his back on international organisations and adopt an aggressive posture toward them.

Since President Donald Trump took office in 2017, the US has quit the UN cultural agency UNESCO, cut UN funding and announced its withdrawal from the UN-backed Paris climate agreement and Iran nuclear deal.

On June, the United States has announced its withdrawal from the United Nation Human Rights Council (UNHRC) over what it calls the body’s entrenched bias against Israel.

The US administration has for long been pushing the UNHRC to end its scrutiny of Israel's widespread human rights abuses against Palestinians.

 

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