ICC interim chief prosecutor says US sanctions on court come from ‘misunderstanding’

Attacks by the administration of US President Donald Trump on the International Criminal Court stem from Washington’s misunderstanding of the court’s activities, its interim chief prosecutor tells AFP.

In an exclusive interview, his first since taking over as the court’s top prosecutor, Mame Mandiaye Niang also says the ICC is already preparing technical alternatives in the event of future US sanctions against the institution.

Washington has imposed a series of sanctions on ICC officials, furious at the court’s issuing of an arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We have no interest in, nor is it our role to, infringe upon state sovereignty. We know we aren’t the world’s police. We are perfectly aware of that,” says the Senegalese prosecutor.

The United States is not an ICC member and has never ratified the Rome Statute that established the court. Israel, Russia and China are also not members.

Niang however lashes out at US accusations that the ICC was a corrupt institution: “That is a judgement we simply do not accept.”