NDP Foreign Affairs Critic: Canada Must Stand Up for the ICC and International Law

NDP MP and Foreign Affairs Critic Heather McPherson made the following statement in reaction to the United States sanctioning of the International Criminal Court (ICC):

This morning the United States imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court, an institution Canada helped to create.

It is ironic that these sanctions come on the same day that former ICC judge and human rights champion Navi Pillay was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

These sanctions are a direct attack on survivors of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Victims of atrocities deserve justice. The President of the United States is obstructing the course of justice.

This is intolerable.

Canada stayed silent as the U.S. sanctioned ICC judges, including Canadian judge Kimberly Prost.

Canada’s silence must end today.

Canada must immediately condemn these sanctions and affirm Canada’s full commitment to the International Criminal Court and international law.

Anything less is an abdication of Canada’s responsibility for justice.