The Government of Senegal has condemned the United States’ decision to impose sanctions on four judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC), including Senegalese Judge Mame Mandiaye Niang, calling the move a violation of judicial independence.
In a statement issued Thursday, the Ministry of African Integration and Foreign Affairs said Senegal had learned of the sanctions “with astonishment,” stressing that ICC judges must be allowed to carry out their duties “freely and calmly” under the mandate entrusted to them by the 125 States Parties to the Rome Statute.
Senegal, the first country to ratify the Rome Statute, reaffirmed its “unwavering support for the ICC and expressed full solidarity” with Judge Niang and the other targeted judges, the statement reads.
These sanctions constitute a serious violation of the principle of judicial independence and the right of the Court’s judges to serve without threats or restrictions, the ministry said.
Dakar also urged all States Parties to the Rome Statute to show solidarity with the ICC and “redouble efforts” to protect the institution and its staff from external pressure.
The development comes amid ongoing tensions between Washington and The Hague, with U.S. officials frequently criticising the ICC’s investigations into cases involving non-member states.
These sanctions are a flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution which operates under the mandate from 125 States Parties from all regions. They constitute also an affront against the Court’s States Parties, the rules-based international order and, above all, millions of innocent victims across the world, the ICC wrote.
It should be recalled that the criticism follows President Donald Trump’s administration imposing sanctions on two judges and two prosecutors at the International Criminal Court, amid Washington’s pressure on the war tribunal over its target of Israeli leaders and a past decision to investigate U.S. officials.
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