International Criminal Court Affirms It Will Continue Its Work Despite US Sanctions

Senegalese magistrate Mame Mandiaye Niang, who has been serving as interim head of the International Criminal Court (ICC) following the removal of its former prosecutor, spoke on France 24 about the crisis facing the institution established in 2002.

According to him, the sanctions imposed by the United States on the ICC make the Court's operations "difficult," but will not prevent it from "doing its job." These sanctions follow, among other things, the ICC's issuance of an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Mame Mandiaye Niang defended the Court's record, particularly its decision concerning Benjamin Netanyahu, presented as one of the actions that led to the punitive measures imposed by the United States.

The ICC, founded in 2002 to prosecute the most serious crimes under international law, is going through a period that the magistrate describes as an "unprecedented" crisis, marked both by external pressures and internal tensions, as evidenced by the removal of its former prosecutor.

The senior magistrate nonetheless reaffirmed the institution's determination to continue its activities despite this context, as reported by France 24.