U.S. Sanctions against the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo today announced sanctions against International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda for opposing the ICC’s investigation into alleged war crimes committed by U.S. forces in Afghanistan, which the President of the ICC Assembly of States Parties then condemned as “unacceptable.

Mike Pompeo said that in addition to Bensouda, Phakiso Mochochoko, head of the ICC’s Jurisdiction, Complementarity and Cooperation Division, was also included on the U.S. sanctions blacklist because he “materially assisted Prosecutor Bensouda.

Pompeo also said that other ICC officials have been denied visas by the United States for investigating U.S. military personnel.

Our country is taking further action today because, unfortunately, the ICC continues to target Americans,” he said.

Pompeo said the visa restrictions, along with broader sanctions, could apply to those who assisted Bensouda and Mochochoko.

In response to Pompeo’s sanctions announcement, ICC Assembly of States Parties President O-Gon Kwon said, “I strongly reject this unprecedented and unacceptable move against an international organization that is based on treaties.”