Browsing: ICC

The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Taliban leaders, Haibatullah Akhundzada and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, for alleged persecution of girls and women in Afghanistan.

The ICC has been dealt a harsh blow by one of its founding states, which also prides itself on being the “homeland of human rights.” On Wednesday, France issued a cryptic statement undermining both the authority of this judicial body and the arrest warrant issued six days earlier by its judges against Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the context of the war in Gaza.

The ICC has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant. The ICC says both men – alongside a Hamas leader who was killed in July – bore “criminal responsibility” for crimes during the war between Israel and Hamas. The court accuses Israel of using starvation as a war tactic and for intentionally targeting civilians.

Despite Hungary’s resistance, Italy, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands and France have signalled that they would respect the court’s decision and potentially arrest Netanyahu if he travelled to one of their countries.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Friday he would invite Benjamin Netanyahu to visit his country and that he would guarantee that an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against the Israeli prime minister would “not be observed.”