International Criminal Court 'outright dangerous' to US: NSA John Bolton
NSA Jonh Bolton
Bolton said that any probe of US service members would be "an utterly unfounded, unjustifiable investigation."
President Trump's national security adviser(NSA), John Bolton said the "US won't sit quietly" if the International Criminal Court(ICC) moves to charge any American who served in Afghanistan with war crimes.
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"If the court comes after us, Israel or other US allies, we will not sit quietly," the US national security adviser said, adding that the criminal court was "unaccountable" and "outright dangerous" to the United States, Israel and other allies.
Bolton further said that any probe of US service members would be "an utterly unfounded, unjustifiable investigation."
The United States did not ratify the Rome treaty that established the International Criminal Court in 2002. Former president George W. Bush opposed court although Trump's predecessor Obama did cooperate somewhat but the US as a whole has kept away from the criminal court.
"In theory, the ICC holds perpetrators of the most egregious atrocities accountable for their crimes, provides justice to the victims, and deters future abuses," Bolton said.
"In practice, however, the court has been ineffective, unaccountable, and indeed, outright dangerous," he added. "The United States will use any means necessary to protect our citizens and those of our allies from unjust prosecution by this illegitimate court," he said.
Bolton threatened to arrest and prosecute judges and other officials of the International Criminal Court if it moves to charge any American with war crimes.
The Philippines had given official notice to the United Nations in May that it was withdrawing from the ICC which was probing president Rodrigo Duterte's drug war. Manila had joined the Rome Statute in 2011.
Philippines foreign secretary Alan Peter Cayetano had said his country was quitting due to "the well-orchestrated campaign to mislead the international community, to crucify President Duterte... by distorting the human rights situation in the country".
Russia which had never ratified the war crimes court had decided to pull out two years ago citing "lack of independence"and declaring that the court hadn't "lived up to to the hopes associated with it."
Gambia and South Africa had pulled out of the ICC in 2016, including Burundi which left the world criminal court in October 2017.