Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – On 2 September, the US Secretary of State M. Pompeo announced the imposition of sanctions against the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court F. Bensoud and the head of the department of legal proceedings, complementarity and cooperation of the court F. Mochoco.

This decision was made by the United States in connection with the activities of the court to investigate the war crimes of American soldiers in Afghanistan. As M. Pompeo emphasized, the United States will not tolerate illegal attempts by the court to subordinate the Americans to their jurisdiction. He called the court "a totally defective and corrupt institution."

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is the first permanent international criminal justice body. It has the status of an independent international organization and is not part of the UN structure. The court investigates war crimes, acts of genocide and crimes against humanity. There are 123 countries in the ICC, but the United States, along with China, India and Russia, does not recognize it. The court was established in 1998, has been operating since 2002, and its headquarters are in The Hague (Netherlands).

In turn, the International Criminal Court condemned the "unprecedented" sanctions imposed by the United States against the prosecutor F. Bensoud and one of her top aides, calling them a "serious attack" against the rule of law. The statement notes that the measures taken by the United States are "another attempt to obstruct the independence of the judiciary and prosecutors and important work to investigate serious crimes of concern to the international community."

The United Nations commented on the US sanctions against the prosecutor F. Bensoud and her assistant. Representative of the Organization S. Dujarrik said that A. Guterres is concerned about M. Pompeo’s statement and will closely monitor the situation.

According to Deutsche Welle, the investigation of alleged war crimes committed by the US, the IRA government and the Taliban in 2003-2014. The International Criminal Court began in March this year. A preliminary investigation into the circumstances of the conflict in Afghanistan began back in 2006.

It is noteworthy that the United States is not a party to the International Criminal Court and does not recognize its jurisdiction over American citizens, but Afghanistan is a state party to the court.

According to the BBC, in 2016 the court published a report that noted the war crimes of the United States, the IRA government and the Taliban. In particular, the US troops may be involved in crimes against about 80 victims who were allegedly subjected to torture and ill-treatment, infringement of human dignity and rape in 2003-2004.

Afghan security forces are suspected of committing war crimes against hundreds of civilians, including torture and ill-treatment, attacks on human dignity.

The Taliban are suspected of crimes against humanity, such as murder, imprisonment or other forms of deprivation of physical freedom, as well as the persecution of certain groups of civilians, including for political and gender reasons. It is believed that the actions of Taliban led to tens of thousands of civilian casualties.

Washington has repeatedly warned the International Criminal Court that the Trump administration will take countermeasures if the investigation continues. At the same time, the White House claims that the United States has its own procedures for investigating allegations against its soldiers. In this vein and in the light of the court’s refusal to terminate the above investigations in June of this year. US President Donald Trump signed a decree authorizing the imposition of sanctions against court staff.

Against the background of the above, experts note that Washington’s desire to put pressure on the International Criminal Court and obstruct its investigation is due to the fact that it can cause significant damage to the image of the United States in the eyes of the international community. To date, the main US efforts are focused on bringing the war in Afghanistan to an end by reconciling Kabul and Taliban. As a result of the alleged stabilization of the military-political situation in Afghanistan, the United States intends to withdraw its troops from this country.

In general, the International Criminal Court expresses its readiness to continue the investigation of war crimes of the participants in the Afghan conflict, despite the protests and sanctions of the United States. Nevertheless, analysts believe that the tightening of Washington’s position may, to a certain extent, complicate the work of the court in the Afghan direction, which will undoubtedly affect the prospects for the above investigations.