Reuters revealed that the Trump administration is pressuring the International Criminal Court (ICC) to amend the Rome Statute, explicitly stating that it will not investigate or prosecute Donald Trump himself or his senior officials, or else the United States will consider expanding sanctions, even directly sanctioning the court itself. A Trump administration official with knowledge of the matter said that the U.S. also requested the ICC to withdraw its investigation into Israeli leaders related to the Gaza war and formally terminate the previous investigation into U.S. military actions in Afghanistan. Washington has conveyed these demands to ICC member states and the court, citing concerns that the ICC may take legal action against him, the vice president, and other senior officials after Trump's term ends in 2029. This move will significantly escalate the long-standing confrontation between the U.S. and the ICC. Previously, the U.S. had imposed sanctions on nine ICC officials, including judges and prosecutors, but had not yet directly sanctioned the court as a whole. Reuters pointed out that amending the Rome Statute is extremely difficult procedurally, requiring approval from at least two-thirds of member states, and the threshold for fundamental adjustments to judicial jurisdiction is even higher. The ICC responded that the power to amend the treaty belongs to the Assembly of States Parties, but did not directly respond whether it had received a formal request from the U.S. for "prosecution immunity." Analysts believe that if the U.S. imposes sanctions on the court itself, it would severely impact the daily operations of this permanent war crimes tribunal with 125 member states and also trigger strong backlash from allied countries.
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Original article: toutiao.com/article/1851282261806282/
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