International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor Karim Khan justified the Court’s decision to exclude the United States (US) troops from its investigation into war crimes committed in Afghanistan, saying that the “worst crimes” on Afghan soil had been committed by the Taliban and the ISIL (ISIS).
The preliminary investigation began in 2006. Subsequently, former ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda urged the international court’s judges to launch a full-fledged investigation in 2019, as there was a “reasonable” suspicion that both US troops and the Taliban had committed war crimes, and pointed to secret detention centres run by the Central Investigation Agency (CIA).
However, the investigations were temporarily halted after the now-deposed Afghan government urged the court to allow it time to investigate the allegations domestically. In September, once the Taliban took control of the country, Karim Khan, who only assumed his position in in June, called for a relaunch of this process. However, he said the investigation into the US troops’ crimes was being deprioritised. Instead, the Court would focus on “the scale and nature of crimes within the jurisdiction of the court”, he said. As a result, the ICC will only look into crimes committed by the Taliban and ISIS.
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Defending the move on Monday, Khan clarified that the decision was based on evidence. Khan added that he would continue to focus on the Taliban and ISIS, and said he has already sought permission to do so.
Rights groups have severely criticised the ICC’s decision, arguing that the actions of US troops require an independent investigation. For instance, Horia Mosadiq, an Afghan human rights activist, said Khan’s announcement was “an insult to thousands of other victims of crimes by Afghan government forces and US and NATO forces.”
The ICC’s decision to investigate crimes committed by American troops has long been a matter of conflict. The US, which is not a member of the Rome Statute that sets up the ICC, has argued that the court does not have jurisdiction to investigate its actions or those of its troops. As a result of this disagreement, former US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Khan’s predecessor, Fatou Bensouda, and other ICC staff members.
Also Read: US Imposes Sanctions Against ICC Officials For Investigating Afghanistan War Crimes
The ICC’s relations with the US administration began improving with the inauguration of President Joe Biden, who revoked the Executive Order that imposed the sanctions against the members of the court. However, the US continues to oppose investigations into its actions in Afghanistan.
In a press statement released in April, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “We maintain our longstanding objection to the Court’s efforts to assert jurisdiction over personnel of non-States Parties such as the United States and Israel.” Despite Biden’s decision to revoke the US’ sanctions against the ICC members, he continues to be unwilling to push for the US to join the ICC and be held accountable for its war crimes in Afghanistan.
Also Read: Despite Revoking Trump-Era Sanctions on ICC Officials, Biden Continues Opposition to Court