NEW YORK: International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan is the first person to be hit with economic and travel sanctions authorized by US President Donald Trump that target the war crimes tribunal over investigations of US citizens or US allies.
Khan, who is British, was named on Monday in an annex to an executive order signed by Trump last week. Reuters reported on Friday that Khan had been designated by Washington.
The sanctions, which repeat action Trump took during his first term, include freezing of US assets of those designated and barring them and their families from visiting the United States.
The ICC on Friday condemned the sanctions, pledging to stand by its staff and “continue providing justice and hope to millions of innocent victims of atrocities across the world, in all situations before it.”
Court officials met in The Hague on Friday to discuss the implications of the sanctions.
The International Criminal Court, which opened in 2002, has international jurisdiction to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in member states or if a situation is referred by the UN Security Council.
Under an agreement between the United Nations and Washington, Khan should be able to regularly travel to New York to brief the UN Security Council on cases it had referred to the court in The Hague. The Security Council has referred the situations in Libya and Sudan’s Darfur region to the ICC.
“We trust that any restrictions taken against individuals would be implemented consistently with the host country’s obligations under the UN Headquarters agreement,” deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Friday.
White House confirms war crimes prosecutor first target of ICC sanctions
https://arab.news/4rk2u
White House confirms war crimes prosecutor first target of ICC sanctions
- Karim Khan, who is British, was named on Monday in an annex to an executive order signed by Trump last week
- Sanctions include freezing of US assets of those designated and barring them and their families from visiting the United States
Macron pushes back against Trump’s tariff threats, calls for stronger European sovereignty at Davos
- French president calls for stronger European sovereignty and fair trade rules, signaling Europe will not bow to economic coercion amid US tariff threats
LONDON: French President Emmanuel Macron warned about global power and economic governance, implicitly challenging US President Donald Trump’s trade and diplomatic approach, at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday.
Without naming Trump, Macron described a world sliding toward a “law of the strongest,” where cooperation is replaced by coercion and economic pressure becomes a tool of dominance.
His comments come as Europe faces renewed threats of tariffs and coercive measures from Washington following the fallout over Greenland and other trade disputes.
Macron, wearing sunglasses on stage, warned political and business leaders of a world under pressure, marked by rising instability, weakened international law, and faltering global institutions.
“We are destroying the systems that help us solve shared problems,” he said, warning that uncontrolled competition, especially in trade, puts collective governance at risk.
In recent days, Trump has threatened punitive tariffs on European exports, including a 200 percent levy on French wine, after Macron refused to join the “Board of Peace” for Gaza.
Trump also announced a 10 percent tariff on exports from Britain and EU countries unless Washington secured a deal to purchase Greenland from Denmark, a move European officials have privately called economic blackmail.
Macron rejected what he described as “vassalization and bloc politics,” warning that submitting to the strongest power would lead to subordination rather than security.
He also criticized trade practices that demand “maximum concessions” while undermining European export interests, suggesting that competition today is increasingly about power rather than efficiency or innovation.
Macron also said that Europe has long been uniquely exposed by its commitment to open markets while others protect their industries.
“Protection does not mean protectionism,” he said, emphasizing that Europe must enforce a level playing field, strengthen trade defense instruments, and apply the principle of “European preference” where partners fail to respect shared rules.
Macron warned against passive moral posturing, arguing that it would leave Europe “marginalized and powerless” in an increasingly harsh world. His dual strategy calls for stronger European sovereignty alongside effective multilateralism.
The timing of the speech underscored its urgency. Trump recently published private messages from NATO leaders and Macron, following a diplomatic controversy over Greenland.
Macron closed his Davos speech with a clear statement of principles: “We prefer respect to bullying, science to obscurantism, and the rule of law to brutality.”
