EU hands Sakharov Prize to sanctions-hit ICC

Images

×

European Union awards top rights prize to International Criminal Court days after Trump sanctions – WTOP News wtop.com

Days after the Trump administration sanctioned the International Criminal Court, the European Parliament awarded the tribunal its Sakharov Prize, the EU's top human rights honor. President Roberta Metsola announced the award in Strasbourg on Thursday to a standing ovation, saying the prize recognizes the court's work in upholding international law. ICC President Tomoko Akane said the award "comes at a time when the court and its officials face unprecedented challenges."

The American sanctions cut the Hague-based court off from US financial services, US technology companies and the use of US dollars, with a six-month wind-down period for US firms doing business with the tribunal. The measures are part of a broader campaign against the ICC over its investigations into the United States and its allies, including Israel. EU leaders said after last week's summit they "deeply regret" the sanctions and urged Washington to reverse them, noting the delayed implementation "creates space for diplomacy" — and insisting on "the EU's readiness to take all necessary measures" should that diplomacy fail. The Commission has been tasked with initiatives to protect the court, specifically so EU companies can keep providing services to it. One option on the table is a blocking statute that would bar European firms from complying with the US measures.

What Brussels has actually delivered, so far, is a ceremony. The prize — named for Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, founded in 1988 — carries no funding, no sanctions relief and no answer to the dollar cutoff. The court that prosecuted a sitting Russian president in absentia now depends on European companies being legally forbidden to obey American law, a construction that has rarely survived contact with a large US market. The nomination came from the Socialists and Democrats group, which said it was proud to put the court forward "at a time when international justice is under attack." Other shortlisted candidates were imprisoned Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu and twin sisters Taraneh and Romina Rahimi, jailed for protesting the Iranian government.

The EU's statement after the summit ran to regret, urging and readiness. The parliament's statement ran to applause. Both were issued in the same week the sanctions took effect.