Nobel Peace Prize winner Navi Pillay has urged the United States to abandon its campaign against the International Criminal Court (ICC) and resume its historic role as a global defender of human rights. Speaking in The Hague, where she serves as a judge at the International Court of Justice, Pillay criticised Washington\u2019s recent sanctions against the ICC\u2014announced just days after her Nobel win\u2014as a deliberate undermining of international justice.<\/p>\n
The sanctions, imposed by the US under Secretary of State Marco Rubio, target the ICC\u2019s operations, including financial transactions, while exempting humanitarian and detainee-related payments. Rubio previously dismissed the court as a “rogue institution” that would never prosecute Americans, a stance Pillay called “very unfortunate.” She noted that the timing of the sanctions\u2014coinciding with her Nobel announcement\u2014could not be coincidental, particularly given the US\u2019s long-standing hostility toward the ICC\u2019s jurisdiction over non-member nationals.<\/p>\n
Pillay\u2019s warnings come amid escalating tensions over the ICC\u2019s 2024 arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, which the US has vehemently opposed. Her own 2023 UN report accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza\u2014dismissed by Israel as “scandalous”\u2014has further fuelled the backlash. Pillay rejected claims of “false propaganda” against the report, framing the pushback as part of a broader effort to discredit international justice mechanisms.<\/p>\n
As the 21st woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, Pillay also highlighted systemic gender inequality in global leadership, noting that her achievement reflects how deeply entrenched such disparities remain. Beyond her Nobel recognition, she plans to focus on ensuring sexual violence is treated as a war crime\u2014an issue she championed during her tenure at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in the 1990s.<\/p>\n
The US\u2019s actions risk isolating it further on the world stage, with Pillay\u2019s call to “play a liberatory role” resonating as a counterpoint to its aggressive stance against the ICC. The sanctions, she argued, threaten not just the court\u2019s independence but the broader principle of accountability for atrocity crimes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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