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2017-2021 ARCHIVED CONTENT

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Today, the International Criminal Court (ICC) Appeals Chamber authorized an investigation into the alleged activities of the Taliban and U.S. and Afghan personnel related to Afghanistan.  This is a truly breathtaking action by an unaccountable political institution, masquerading as a legal body.

It is all the more reckless for this ruling to come just days after the United States signed a historic peace deal on Afghanistan – the best chance for peace in a generation.  Indeed, the Afghan government, itself, pleaded with the ICC to not take this course.  But the ICC politicians had other goals.

The United States is not a party to the ICC, and we will take all necessary measures to protect our citizens from this renegade, so-called court.

This is yet another reminder of what happens when multilateral bodies lack oversight and responsible leadership, and become instead a vehicle for political vendettas.  The ICC has today stumbled into a sorry affirmation of every denunciation made by its harshest critics over the past three decades.

 

U.S. Department of State

The Lessons of 1989: Freedom and Our Future