US sanctions ICC for targeting US and allies including Israel. UK and EU should expel US from UN and NATO

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: Following the inauguration of POTUS Donald Trump on Jan 20, he ordered the US to withdraw its membership of many organisations that require members to adhere to international law, humanitarian and human rights law and help provide assistance to the most vulnerable people in need. The decline of the US, its weak moral compass, hatred of foreigners and cruelty towards fellow man means that the US cannot be trusted. The UK and EU should expel US from the UN and NATO.

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Three related reports:

From BBC News online

By Bernd Debusmann Jr

BBC News, White House

Dated Thursday, 6 February 2025, 22:21 GMT - full copy:

Trump sanctions International Criminal Court, calls it 'illegitimate'

IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES

Image caption, Trump previously sanctioned ICC officials during his first term in office in 2020.

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order sanctioning the International Criminal Court, accusing it of "illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel".

The measure places financial and visa restrictions on individuals and their families who assist in ICC investigations of American citizens or allies.

In January, the US House of Representatives voted to sanction the ICC after it issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes allegations in Gaza, which Israel denies. The ICC also issued a warrant for a Hamas commander.

At the time, the ICC said it "regrets any attempts to undermine the court's independence, integrity and impartiality".

The US is not a member of the ICC and has repeatedly rejected any jurisdiction by the body over American officials or citizens.

The order says that the ICC's recent actions "set a dangerous precedent" that endanger Americans by exposing them to "harassment, abuse and possible arrest".

"This malign conduct in turn threatens to infringe upon the sovereignty of the United States and undermines the critical national security and foreign policy work of the United States government and our allies, including Israel," the order says.

The White House accuses the Hague-based ICC of creating a "shameful moral equivalency" between Hamas and Israel by issuing the warrants for the Israeli leaders and a Hamas commander at the same time, according to a fact sheet circulated by the White House earlier.

The White House believes the ICC is placing constraints on Israel's right to self-defence, while accusing the body of ignoring Iran and anti-Israel groups.

Trump has repeatedly criticised the ICC, and took several steps to sanction the body during his first term in office.

At the time, he also imposed sanctions on ICC officials who were investigating whether US forces committed war crimes in Afghanistan.

The order allowed the US to block the assets of ICC employees and stop them from entering the US.

In response, the ICC said that the sanctions were an "unacceptable attempt to interfere with the rule of law".

Founded in 2002 - in the wake of the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the Rwandan genocide - the ICC was formed to investigate alleged atrocities.

The court can only deal with crimes committed after July 2002, when the Rome Statute - which formed the ICC - came into effect.

Over 120 countries have ratified the statute, while another 34 have signed and may ratify in the future.

Neither the US nor Israel is party to the Rome Statute. The order states that "both nations are thriving democracies with militaries that strictly adhere to the laws of war".

The ICC is a court of last resort and it is meant to intervene only when national authorities cannot or will not prosecute.

Media caption, 

Watch [Video 00:14]: Netanyahu gifts Trump a golden pager during US visit 

Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, also criticised the ICC's warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, calling the move "outrageous" and saying there was no equivalence between Israel and Hamas.

Trump's signing of the executive order comes as Netanyahu visits Washington.

In a joint press conference with the Israeli prime minister this week, Trump said the US could "take over" Gaza, which he said could become the "Riviera of the Middle East".

He again made the claim on his Truth Social social media platform.

"The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting," Trump said on Thursday.

He repeated his belief that the idea would mean resettling Palestinians, and that no American soldiers would be deployed.

His post did not make clear whether the two million residents of the Palestinian territory would be invited to return, leaving officials scrambling to explain.

On Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that any displacement would be temporary, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Gazans would leave for an "interim" period while reconstruction took place.

Arab leaders, human rights organisations and the UN have condemned the idea.

International Criminal Court: What is the ICC and what does it do?

View original: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2p19l24g2o

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From Times Radio - Video report
Dated Thursday, 6 February 2025 

Trump's plan for Gaza 'unviable' and cannot be implemented 

"There not a chance that this is something that would be implemented soon." Trump's plan for Gaza is unfounded and simply part of 'flooding the zone' with ideas, says President of the Middle East Policy Council Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley.

 

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Trump 🇺🇸 gifts to Netanyahu 🇮🇱 a ‘key to the Whitehouse’

•Over 61,709 Palestinians murdered in Gaza 🇵🇸
•Over 17,000 children murdered
•Over 111,588 injured
•Over 6,000 kidnapped & tortured

An ICC arrest warrant for crimes against humanity

Shameful.pic.twitter.com/wsD3IwwL33

— Howard Beckett (@BeckettUnite) February 6, 2025

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ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan KC briefs the UN Security Council on the situation in Darfur, Sudan live from NY

ICC Prosecutor @KarimKhanQC briefs the @UN Security Council on the situation in Darfur, Sudan live from New York on Monday, 27 January 2025.

Watch now @UNWebTV here: 

https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k18/k183axwuyz (starts at -22:52 mark)

Read the full report, 27 January 2025:
Fortieth report of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to the United Nations Security Council pursuant to Resolution 1593 (2005) 

English​​​, Français, عربي 

https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/fortieth-report-prosecutor-international-criminal-court-united-nations-security-council

Source: Office of the Prosecutor | Contact: OTPNewsDesk@icc-cpi.int

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Related report

From The Associated Press

By EDITH M. LEDERER

January 28, 2025, 2:38 AM GMT - full copy:

ICC prosecutor seeking arrest warrants for those accused of atrocities in Sudan’s West Darfur region

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced Monday that his office will be seeking arrest warrants for those accused of atrocities in Sudan’s West Darfur region, which has seen reported ethnic cleansing by paramilitary forces that have been fighting government forces for 19 months.

Karim Khan told the U.N. Security Council that crimes are being committed in Darfur “as we speak and daily” and are being used as a weapon of war. He said that conclusion is the result of “a hard-edged analysis” based on evidence and information collected by his office.

Sudan plunged into conflict in mid-April 2023, when long-simmering tensions between its military and paramilitary leaders broke out in the capital, Khartoum, and spread to other regions, including the vast western Darfur region.

Two decades ago, Darfur became synonymous with genocide and war crimes, particularly by the notorious Janjaweed Arab militias, against populations that identify as Central or East African. Up to 300,000 people were killed and 2.7 million were driven from their homes.

Khan told the council in January there were grounds to believe both government forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force, which was born out of the Janjaweed, may be committing war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide in Darfur.

The Biden administration, just before it left office this month, determined that the RSF and its proxies are committing genocide in Sudan’s civil war. And the ICC prosecutor told the council Monday that there are “very clear echoes” in the current conflict of what happened 20 years ago.

“The pattern of crimes, the perpetrators, the parties, tracked very closely with the same protagonists, the same targeted groups as existed in 2003” and led the Security Council to refer Darfur to the ICC, Khan said. “It’s the same communities, the same groups suffering, a new generation suffering the same hell that has been endured by other generations of Darfuris, and this is tragic.”

Human Rights Watch in a major report last May said the Rapid Support Forces and their allied militias carried out attacks against the ethnic Masalit and other non-Arab groups in El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur state, from April to June 2023, with attacks intensifying that November.

At least thousands of people were killed and hundreds of thousands displaced during the attacks, according to the report by the leading rights group.

“I can confirm today that my office is taking the necessary steps to put forward applications for warrants of arrest in relations to crimes we allege are being committed and have been committed in West Darfur,” Khan told the council on Monday.

He gave no details on the specific crimes or the people the ICC wants arrested. But he did say his office is particularly concerned about a stream of allegations of gender crimes against women and girls, which he said were “a priority” for the ICC.

He said the last six months have seen “a tailspin into deeper suffering, deeper misery for the people of Darfur,” with famine present, conflict increasing, children targeted, girls and women subjected to rape and the whole landscape “one of destruction.”

Khan had a simple message for those on the ground in El Geneina in West Darfur, the city of El Fasher in North Darfur, which is besieged by RSF forces, and elsewhere in Darfur: “Now, better late than never, for goodness sake, comply with international humanitarian law, not as a charity, not out of some political necessity, but out of the dictates of humanity.”

Khan told the council he made efforts to engage with the RSF to obtain information relevant to the ICC’s investigations, and members of his office met with representatives of the paramilitary force last week.

“I do expect, and hope, and require swift and meaningful action, and will be monitoring that,” he said.

View original: https://apnews.com/article/icc-sudan-darfur-war-government-rsf-arrest-11f17e7d3bb3f2d48c4debb3ebb906a3

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US freezes nearly all foreign assistance worldwide. UK announces £20m in additional funding to Sudan

SUDAN must not be forgotten said UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

"Refugees fleeing war-torn Sudan will receive further UK support to increase food production and lifesaving sexual and reproductive health services, as Foreign Secretary announces £20 million in additional funding while visiting the Adré on the Chad-Sudan border.

This builds on the doubling of UK aid in November to address the humanitarian emergency in Sudan to £226.5 million. These UK funds are providing emergency food assistance to nearly 800,000 displaced people, of whom over 88% are women and children, as well as improving access to shelter, drinking water, emergency health care and education.

Meanwhile, US freezes nearly all foreign assistance worldwide, effective immediately, days after President Donald J Trump issued a sweeping executive order Monday to put a hold on such aid for 90 days. The new orders specifically exempted emergency food programs, such as those helping to feed millions in a widening famine in warring Sudan.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: 

“Sudanese people are facing violence on an unimaginable scale. This is the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world.

“Millions have already fled their homes – in the face of a struggle for power that has led to abhorrent atrocities against civilians and famine on an unconscionable scale. 

“The international community must wake up and act urgently to avoid this horrific death toll escalating further in the coming months, driving instability and irregular migration into Europe and the UK. Under this government’s Plan for Change, we are addressing upstream drivers of migration to secure UK borders.

“The UK will not let Sudan be forgotten. To do so would be unforgivable.”

Foreign Secretary David Lammy meets Sudanese refugees in the border town of Adré, Chad. Crown copyright.

Meanwhile, the US has frozen nearly all foreign assistance worldwide, effective immediately, days after President Donald Trump issued a sweeping executive order Monday to put a hold on such aid for 90 days. 

It is the policy of United States that no further United States foreign assistance shall be disbursed in a manner that is not fully aligned with the foreign policy of the President of the United States. Exempted are emergency food programs, such as those helping to feed millions in a widening famine in warring Sudan.

Full story:

UK Gov Press Release from Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and The Rt Hon David Lammy MP 25 January 2025 “Sudan must not be forgotten - David Lammy announces political and humanitarian action to address "catastrophe" in Sudan

 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/sudan-must-not-be-forgotten-david-lammy-announces-political-and-humanitarian-action-to-address-catastrophe-in-sudan

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US Gov Executive Order from The White House 20 January 2025 - REEVALUATING AND REALIGNING UNITED STATES FOREIGN AID

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/reevaluating-and-realigning-united-states-foreign-aid/

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Associated Press report 25 January 2025 - "The US State Department ordered a sweeping freeze Friday on new funding for almost all US foreign assistance, making exceptions for emergency food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s order, delivered in a cable sent to US embassies worldwide, specifically exempted emergency food programs, such as those helping to feed millions in a widening famine in warring Sudan."

https://apnews.com/article/state-department-trump-foreign-aid-bf047e17ef64cb42a1a1b7fdf05caffa

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South Sudan orders telecoms to block access to social media for at least 30 days, could extend up to 90 days

Report by The Associated Press
Dated Wednesday, 22 January 2025, 9:19 PM GMT - full copy:

South Sudan orders temporary ban on social media over violence in neighboring Sudan

JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — South Sudanese authorities on Wednesday ordered telecoms to block access to social media for at least 30 days, citing concerns over the dissemination of graphic content relating to the ongoing violence against South Sudanese in neighboring Sudan.

The temporary ban, which could be extended to up to 90 days, will come into force at midnight Thursday, according to a directive from the National Communication Authority, NCA, to telecom companies stressing that the measure was necessary to protect the public.

“This directive may be lifted as soon as the situation is contained,” the NCA said. “The contents depicted violate our local laws and pose a significant threat to public safety and mental health.”

Many South Sudanese have been angered by footage from Sudan that purports to show killings by militia groups of South Sudanese in Gezira state. South Sudanese authorities imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew on Jan. 17 after a night of retaliatory violence during which shops owned by Sudanese traders were looted.

Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairperson of the African Union Commission, condemned “the brutal killings of South Sudanese nationals” in Sudan and urged restraint.

Civil war in Sudan has created a widening famine and the world’s largest displacement crisis. Fighting between forces loyal to rival military leaders exploded in the capital, Khartoum, in April 2023 and has since spread to other areas.

The conflict has been marked by atrocities, including ethnically motivated killing and rape, according to the U.N. and rights groups.

View original: https://apnews.com/article/sudan-south-sudan-violence-social-media-ban-3ee3235942478fd8f2fa47b14015b84c

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Related Report

Report from Radio Dabanga

Dated 17 January 2025 - excerpts

Nationwide curfew in South Sudan after riots target Sudanese businesses

A wave of unrest targeting Sudanese businesses has swept through South Sudan following the killing of Southern Sudanese people in Wad Madani, El Gezira, after the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) recaptured the city. South Sudan’s police chief announced a nationwide curfew from 18.00 to 06.00.

The office of President Salva Kiir Mayardit issued a statement today calling for calm following the riots. Mayardit condemned the “inhumane barbaric killings of innocent South Sudanese civilians allegedly committed by the Sudanese Armed Forces,” adding they evoked “difficult, sad, and emotional memories.”

Full story: https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/nationwide-curfew-in-south-sudan-after-riots-target-sudanese-businesses

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A mysterious virus, suspected to be carried by small flies, has swept across parts of North Darfur, Sudan, killing donkeys in large numbers. USA leaves WHO.

HERE is a must-see video showing large numbers of dead donkeys in North Darfur, Sudan. Sudanese citizens are appealing to outsiders to help provide medical support to help contend with this crisis. Note, US President Trump, inaugerated Jan 20, has ordered US to leave World Health Organisation. US exit from WHO could see fifth of budget disappear. Read more below.

From AYIN NETWORK
Dated 26 December 2024

Darfur: The mysterious death of donkeys over Christmas

A mysterious virus, suspected to be carried by small flies, has swept across parts of North Darfur, Sudan, killing donkeys in large numbers. 

Due to the ongoing conflict, now surpassing 20 months, in Sudan, the country holds the highest rate of displacement in the world, with 12 million displaced, including 3.2 million refugees and over 8.6 million internally displaced. 

Donkeys, especially in Darfur, are the backbone of this transport—not to mention porting water and agricultural harvest. 

Sudanese citizens are appealing to outsiders to help provide medical support to help contend with this crisis.

View original: https://3ayin.com/en/donkeys/

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Further Reading

From BBC News, Washington

Published 21 Jan 2025, 02:11 GMT

Trump orders US to leave World Health Organization

US exit from WHO could see fifth of budget disappear

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c391j738rm3o

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US Treasury sanctions SAF leader Burhan, SAF weapons supplier Abdalla, and RSF leader Hemeti

"AS a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked." Read the full story in breaking news, just in:

From The Sentry

Dated Thursday 16 Jan 2025, 21:09 GMT. Full copy:

US Sanctions Sudan’s Armed Forces Commander Burhan

January 16, 2025 (Washington DC) - Today, the US imposed sanctions on Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, the commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), citing actions including “indiscriminate bombing of civilian infrastructure, attacks on schools, markets, and hospitals, and extrajudicial executions.”
 
The new sanctions designations by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) follow the designation of the leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohammad Hamdan Daglo Mousa (known as “Hemedti”), and an official designation of genocide taking place in Sudan.

  

John Prendergast, co-founder of The Sentry, said: "Having recently sanctioned the leader of the paramilitary RSF, General Hemedti, it was critical that the US also sanction the leader of the Sudanese army, as they have both overseen massive human rights violations and deep-seated corruption.  In the end, when the death tolls are tallied, General Burhan may be responsible for more deaths than anyone in Sudan due to his obstruction of humanitarian aid as a famine has unfolded. Now the European Union, UK and others concerned about Sudan's plight should follow the US lead and impose sanctions on Hemedti and Burhan as well."

  

Brian Adeba, Senior Advisor at The Sentry, said: “The sanctioning of the leader of the Sudan Armed Forces is a significant move in the right direction. Sadly, as atrocities committed by the Sudan Armed Forces continue in offensives in central Sudan now, it is a stark reminder that such errant military leaders are still at work committing mass murder. This action should cajole the international community to activate international mechanisms designed to hold war criminals accountable as well as doubling efforts to bring the war in Sudan to a quick end to protect civilian lives.”

  

In addition, OFAC also sanctioned one company and one individual involved in weapons procurement in the Sudan conflict.

  

Read the US Department of Treasury’s sanctions announcement: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2789
  

For media inquiries, please contact: Greg Hittelman, Director of Communications, gh@thesentry.org

  

About The Sentry
(Short descriptor for press use: “The Sentry, an investigative organization that tracks corruption.”)

The Sentry is an investigative and policy organization that seeks to disable multinational predatory networks that benefit from violent conflict, repression, and kleptocracy. Pull back the curtain on wars, mass atrocities, and other human rights abuses, and you’ll find grand corruption and unchecked greed. These tragedies persist because the perpetrators rarely face meaningful consequences. The Sentry aims to alter the warped incentive structures that continually undermine peace and good governance. Our investigations follow the money as it is laundered from war zones to financial centers around the world. We provide evidence and strategies for governments, banks, and law enforcement to hold the perpetrators and enablers of violence and corruption to account. These efforts provide new leverage for human rights, peace, and anti-corruption efforts. Learn more at: https://TheSentry.org

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