ALP told to follow Donald Trump on ICC sanctions

Australian Jewish leaders have hailed Donald Trump’s sanctions on the International Criminal Court as legal experts warn Australians working for the court could be affected.

President Donald Trump with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House this week. Picture: AP

Australian Jewish leaders have hailed Donald Trump’s sanctions on the International Criminal Court and challenged the Albanese government to back them, as legal experts warned Australians working for the court could be hit by the measures.

The US President signed an executive order on Friday (AEDT) slapping financial sanctions and travel bans on ICC officials, employees and their family members for “baseless” investigations targeting America and its close ally Israel.

The order said the court in The Hague had “abused its power” by issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who held talks with the US President earlier in the week.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus – who in the past have expressed strong support for the court’s independence – declined to comment on the move, in line with Anthony Albanese’s refusal to give a “running commentary” on Mr Trump’s policies.

Opposition legal affairs spokeswoman Michaelia Cash stopped short of endorsing the sanctions but said Mr Trump had “correctly called out” the court’s “disgraceful arrest warrant” for Mr Netanyahu.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin said the ICC had gone “rogue”, making the sanctions “right and necessary”.

“The lawless behaviour of the ICC threatens every democracy, every member of the armed forces, and every politician who has to make difficult decisions of ­national security,” he said.

“We hope the Australian government will support this and will recognise that this isn’t just about standing up for an ally. It is about protecting the right of democracies to defeat terrorism and keep people safe without the constraints of an unaccountable, ­politicised tribunal.”

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin, whose former family home in Sydney was the target of a recent anti-Semitic attack. Picture: NewsWire / John Appleyard

The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council also backed the sanctions, saying the ICC was “completely politicised and out of control”. “Any moves to try to push the court back toward its original purposes and genuine adherence to the provisions of its founding treaty are welcome,” AJIAC executive director Dr Colin Rubenstein said.

“As a country which sees the court as a key part of our foreign policy, Australia should also be supportive of these efforts to undo the damage the court has been inflicting on itself through politicisation.”

Australia is one of 125 nations to have signed the Rome Statute that established the ICC. The US, Israel, Russia and China are not members of the court.

ANU international law professor Don Rothwell said there was a “relatively large” Australian contingent on the ICC staff.

“Those Australians directly involved in the ongoing investigations of Netanyahu and (former Israeli defence minister) Yoav Gallant will be impacted with respect to their travel in and out of the US,” he said.

The Albanese government resisted opposition demands last year to say whether it would comply with the ICC’s November 2024 arrest warrants for Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant.

But Professor Rothwell said Mr Dreyfus could also potentially be affected by the US sanctions if he upheld the warrants.

The UN’s Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, Ben Saul, said as a Rome Statute signatory, it would be a criminal offence for Australia to interfere in the court’s administration of justice.

“Australia, like all other state parties, should do its utmost to defend the court from this kind of outrageous attack,” the University of Sydney professor said.

The latest executive order follows Mr Trump’s shock plan announced this week to move Palestinians out of Gaza and “take over” the territory.

“Trump has crossed all of the greatest red lines in international law. He’s proposing the illegal military invasion and annexation of a foreign country, mass deportation – Nazi style – of a whole population from its territory. I mean, even if it is all talk, it’s incredibly, extraordinarily dangerous and inflammatory talk,” Professor Saul said.

Mr Trump has also sparked international criticism over his threats to seize the Panama Canal and Greenland, his withdrawal of the US from the World Health Organisation and his shutdown of US foreign aid programs.

(The International Criminal Court in The Hague. Picture: ANP / AFP / Netherlands OUT

Labor is determined to forge a good relationship with the Trump administration amid fears the President could undermine Australia’s interests on a whim, as he did to Canada and Mexico with his aborted tariff threats.