In recent news, the US has launched a devastating campaign aimed at dismantling the International Criminal Court (ICC), including personal sanctions on tribunal leadership, coercive diplomacy against allies, criminalizing institutional cooperation, dismantling internal accountability offices, etc...
This campaign sets a dangerous global precedent, with no apparent goal or reason but to effectively shield political leaders and military forces from facing consequences for war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity.
The world rightly condemns terrorism every single time, as we should, but we often neglect to treat war crimes with the same severity—even though, from the victims’ perspective, the two are indistinguishable. Both are horrific crimes against civilians. The key difference is that one is carried out by clandestine groups with limited means, while the other is committed on a much larger scale, by powerful internationally recognized leaders who often benefit from global cooperation and are rarely scrutinized for their actions.
The ICC, as well as the ICJ, is a rare beacon of hope in a politically corrupt world. This reckless U.S. endeavor poses a grave threat to what remains of global justice, leaving victims of atrocity crimes with no path to accountability and signaling that powerful nations can operate above the law.
So - the question at hand is - Who do we side with, a law-based world order? Or morally-bankrupt, blood-thirsty war-obsessed politicians?