The Diplomat
The Spanish government yesterday expressed its satisfaction with the decision taken on Friday by the President of the United States, Joe Biden, to revoke the sanctions imposed on several officials of the International Criminal Court, including Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and the head of the Jurisdiction, Complementarity and Cooperation Division, Phakiso Mochochoko.
The sanctions were imposed in September last year by the previous US administration of Donald Trump against the aforementioned officials, whom it accused of attempting to subject Americans to its jurisdiction when the United States has not ratified the Rome Statute.
In a note issued yesterday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it is pointed out that “Spain shares with the United States the objective of judicially prosecuting the perpetrators of atrocious crimes and considers that the International Criminal Court constitutes a fundamental step in the achievement of a universal and independent jurisdiction that contributes to fulfilling it”.
Spain,” the note adds, “actively supported the establishment of the Court and contributes to its strengthening from the Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of States Parties, of which it is currently a member.
Finally, it assures that “the withdrawal of the sanctions represents a new step towards a multilateralism which, in complementarity with States, avoids untold suffering for Humanity, as proclaimed in the preamble of the United Nations Charter”.
