As the Trump administration ramps up efforts to “dismantle” the International Criminal Court (ICC), it also risks letting loose a number of the world’s most notorious alleged mass killers, legal scholar Ryan Goodman argued in a report published Friday.
The United States has long been opposed to the ICC, with former President George W. Bush having signed a bill in 2002 that permits the U.S. military to invade the ICC headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands, to rescue American military personnel and elected officials should they be imprisoned for war crimes.
The Trump administration has escalated efforts to oppose the ICC in recent months after the international body issued arrest warrants for multiple Israeli officials, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Secretary of State Marco Rubio vowed in July that the United States would “dismantle” the ICC “brick by brick” if necessary, per the Wall Street Journal.
Should the Trump administration be successful in its efforts, Goodman warned that those convicted and detained by the court who had “not yet exhausted their right to appeal” may “have to be released.”
“The result could have dire consequences for the continued detention of people convicted of, or charged with, war crimes and crimes against humanity,” Goodman wrote in a report published in Just Security.
Among those who could be freed is former Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, who was charged earlier this year with crimes against humanity, including murder and attempted murder. Duterte was accused by the court for at least 76 murders, “including the killings of children,” Goodman wrote.
Still in ICC custody, Duterte is scheduled to face trial on Nov. 30, but could walk free should the Trump administration succeed in dismantling the international body.
Several other infamous figures could also be released, including Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri of Libya, an alleged former soldier charged with crimes such as rape, torture and murder, and Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, a Sudanese former commander who was convicted of 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including rape, torture, forcible transfer and murder.