A major diplomatic dispute is unfolding as ICC President Tomoko Akane calls on the Japanese government to intervene and urge the United States to stop escalating sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC). Akane said there is no reason for her to be sanctioned and warned that further measures could deepen tensions between Washington and the international court.
The US has imposed sanctions on several ICC officials over investigations involving Israeli officials in Gaza and US military personnel in Afghanistan. Akane's appeal puts Japan in a difficult position as it tries to balance its commitment to international law with its strategic alliance with the United States.
#ICCPresident #TomokoAkane #ICCSanctions #USSanctions #JapanVsUS #InternationalCriminalCourt #ICCNews #BreakingNews #JapanNews #USForeignPolicy #RuleOfLaw #GlobalPolitics #Washington #Tokyo #GazaInvestigation #AfghanistanInvestigation #WorldNews
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The US has imposed sanctions on several ICC officials over investigations involving Israeli officials in Gaza and US military personnel in Afghanistan. Akane's appeal puts Japan in a difficult position as it tries to balance its commitment to international law with its strategic alliance with the United States.
#ICCPresident #TomokoAkane #ICCSanctions #USSanctions #JapanVsUS #InternationalCriminalCourt #ICCNews #BreakingNews #JapanNews #USForeignPolicy #RuleOfLaw #GlobalPolitics #Washington #Tokyo #GazaInvestigation #AfghanistanInvestigation #WorldNews
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NewsTranscript
00:00yes i would like to thank you very much indeed i would like to thank each and every one of
00:07you for taking the time to join us for this event today
00:11now just yesterday prime minister takaichi and foreign minister motegi themselves in their own capacity were
00:18they have made it perfectly clear that the sanctions the united states has imposed upon us
00:25are in complete and total contradiction to the official stance maintained by the japanese
00:30government i am truly grateful for their steadfast commitment to the defense of the international
00:36criminal court as well as the fundamental and essential principles of the rule of law
00:43i was elected to serve as a judge at the international criminal court back in the year
00:482017 following my official nomination by the government of japan
00:54ever since that time i have consistently fulfilled my professional responsibilities in strict
00:59accordance with the provisions of the rome statute which is the foundational treaty that originally
01:03established this international court furthermore in my capacity as a proud japanese national i have
01:08dedicated significant effort toward raising awareness of the rome statute throughout japan while
01:13simultaneously providing guidance and support to young professionals as they pursue their own
01:17international careers and then in the month of march of the year 2024
01:21i was honored to be elected as the president of the international criminal court by my 18 fellow judges
01:30ever since that time i have had the privilege of representing the court in various capacities which
01:37includes overseeing judicial administration and maintaining vital communication with our member states
01:44when i was elected to the position of president i was interviewed by a wide variety of japanese media outlets
01:51i truly felt the immense weight of my mission and i have been working tirelessly both internally and externally
01:57to further develop the icc and its vital ongoing contribution to the global rule of law as a proud japanese
02:04citizen
02:07consequently the assertion made by the united states that the international criminal court is a corrupt political organization
02:13which has abused the principles of international law to infringe upon the sovereign rights of independent nations and the further
02:20allegation that i have been complicit in these actions is quite frankly entirely without merit and simply not true the
02:27icc together with all of its staff members
02:29have acted in accordance with the rome statute regarding those suspected of committing the most serious crimes of concern to
02:37the
02:37international community where jurisdiction applies and other conditions are met we have simply been engaged in nothing more than the
02:45conduct of neutral and fair investigations as well as the necessary prosecutions and legal trials much like the various judges
02:52and
02:52prosecutors who have been sanctioned before me i can state quite categorically that there is absolutely
02:57no legitimate reason for me to be sanctioned in this particular instance looking at the matter from that perspective
03:05i am of the opinion that the recent public declarations made by the prime minister and the foreign minister to
03:13the press
03:13have offered a truly accurate assessment regarding the current state of my situation
03:20i am deeply grateful for that as it provides both me and the international criminal court with a great deal
03:27of strength
03:30furthermore as i had previously mentioned even though we provided such short notice a surprisingly large
03:35number of media outlets have officially registered to attend this event i would also like to express my
03:41deepest and most sincere gratitude for the overwhelming and unwavering support that i have been fortunate to
03:46receive from my dear friends professional acquaintances various bar associations and countless members of
03:50the public who have reached out with kind words of encouragement and actively participated in the
03:55petition drives i truly find myself at a loss for words and i simply cannot thank you all enough for
04:00everything you have done the overwhelming support i have received from the public is not merely directed at
04:05me as an individual rather it serves as a profound and powerful expression of the japanese people's
04:11unwavering trust in the fundamental principles of law and justice i truly believe that this clearly
04:16demonstrates the deep-seated commitment to these essential values and it highlights that they perceive this
04:21entire matter as a grave and significant issue that impacts their own lives in a very personal and meaningful way
04:28with respect to the overall impact that these specific sanctions might have upon me personally i would like to
04:34take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude once again for your kind concern regarding the various
04:40unpleasantries the significant inconveniences and the potential loss of personal dignity as well as the many
04:47other various disadvantages that i might possibly be forced to face in the coming days
04:53however i was already fully aware to a certain extent that these various disadvantages would inevitably come to pass
05:00i will of course do everything within my power to resist these developments as much as i possibly can
05:05and i place my full unwavering trust in the japanese government to provide me with their support and to
05:10ensure that the overall impact remains as limited as it can possibly be for everyone involved as has been
05:17quite widely reported throughout the country of japan i had the honor of serving as one of the judges in
05:23the
05:23pre-trial chamber that was responsible for the issuance of formal arrest warrants for the russian
05:28president vladimir putin as well as several other individuals back in march of the year 2023 as a
05:35direct and calculated act of retaliation for my professional work the russian government issued
05:39formal arrest warrants against myself and a number of other fellow judges and then in the month of
05:44december of last year i was officially convicted in absentia by a court located in moscow
05:50however that was just a unilateral announcement i was never summoned or anything as a result
05:57i've had to spend a lot of time and effort on my own security and the security of other judges
06:03in
06:03similar positions i would like to take this opportunity to once again express my deepest gratitude
06:11for the truly significant and invaluable support that i have received throughout this process from
06:16the dedicated officers of the japanese national police force as well as from various international
06:22member states such as the netherlands for their assistance in this regard
06:29however the most significant thing for me to emphasize is the fact that these entirely irrational
06:35inconveniences and these persistent targeted threats were something i fully anticipated right from
06:41the very beginning these actions will not in any way alter the fundamental approach i take toward my
06:46judicial responsibilities and i can assure you that i will not be intimidated or crushed by them under any
06:54circumstances instead the primary concern currently occupying my thoughts is the ongoing necessity of
07:00ensuring the protection of the international criminal court its presiding judges and our dedicated staff
07:05while remaining steadfastly focused on maintaining our daily operations in the customary fashion
07:12yes we must remain absolutely committed to maintaining our unwavering focus on that specific objective the icc
07:18will certainly do its absolute utmost to ensure that these sanctions do not in any way undermine or
07:23hinder our vital ongoing work we will also work very closely with japan and our other member states to
07:29actively seek and secure their continued support the icc will never under any circumstances ever give up on our
07:35important mission justice will always triumph over its adversary it must prevail as the saying goes
07:47justice justice will and should prevail i stand by that conviction many people throughout history and today
08:07have voiced the significant concern that considering the fact that even the president himself has been
08:13been subjected to sanctions and the substantial number specifically 9 of the 18 judges
08:21if they have been sanctioned the international criminal court could potentially find itself in a
08:27state of total dysfunction please allow me to elaborate on that specific point for just a moment
08:34the morale among our esteemed judges and our dedicated staff members remains exceptionally high at this time
08:41at this very moment we have three separate trials each presided over by a different judge currently underway
08:47within the trial chamber alone among these significant proceedings the initial hearing for the former
08:53president of the philippines rodrigo duterte is officially scheduled to take place on november 30th
08:59within the appeals chamber two separate cases involving three individuals are currently in progress
09:06these judicial proceedings will continue to move forward without any issues the entire staff remains fully
09:13committed and is working hard and that has not changed in the slightest since the sanctions
09:20i want to express how proud i am of all the judges who have worked so hard and every single
09:26member of our
09:26dedicated staff yes i really am
09:30the icc is a judicial body based on the principle of complementarity it only intervenes when a state
09:38is unwilling or unable to investigate or prosecute those responsible for serious crimes
09:47to put it another way the international criminal court serves as a core of last resort
09:52in situations where no country is able to properly investigate or prosecute a crime
09:58for those victims of serious international crimes the icc remains in a very real sense their final
10:05and only remaining hope throughout my professional work on these legal trials i have personally
10:11listened to the voices of victims firsthand and i have come to realize that so many of them place
10:17all of their hope in the icc yes that is certainly true if the core functions of the international
10:22criminal court were ever to be compromised it would mean that these vulnerable victims would have
10:28absolutely no place left to turn to in order to seek the justice they deserve
10:35those judicial institutions that function in strict accordance with the principles and rules of
10:40international law or work to guarantee its effectiveness represent an absolutely essential
10:46and fundamental component of the rule of law within our global community i hope you will see
10:51the sanctions imposed against the international criminal court not just as a minor issue for
10:56the court itself but as a profound crisis for the global rule of law japan has consistently made
11:03the rule of law a fundamental pillar of its entire foreign policy strategy and because of that i
11:08personally hold very high expectations for japan as we move forward into the future and i know that
11:13the rest of the international community shares those exact same high expectations for your great nation
11:33i would like to take this opportunity to share a few brief thoughts regarding the specific request that
11:38i have for the japanese government at this particular moment in time just as the prime minister and the
11:44foreign minister have both previously mentioned it is my sincere hope and my firm belief that they will
11:49continue to exert every possible effort to steadfastly defend the international criminal court and to
11:54uphold the global rule of law for the benefit of all nations it is common knowledge that japan has
12:01maintained a long and exceptionally close relationship with the united states of america as a close ally i am
12:10fully confident that japan will take the opportunity to clearly express its perspectives regarding the
12:15fundamental importance and the legitimacy of the international criminal court continue to maintain
12:20a constructive and open dialogue and work to ensure that this situation does not result in any further
12:26unnecessary escalation on the part of the united states as i have mentioned in our earlier discussion i firmly
12:33believe that japan has made a truly profound contribution to global stability and to its own national security by
12:40consistently championing and steadfastly upholding the rule of law drawing upon its long history and the valuable
12:45lessons it has learned i am convinced that this commitment has earned japan the deep respect and the enduring trust
12:51of many nations
12:53japan has consistently provided strong support and active cooperation to the international criminal court as a core part of its
13:02foreign policy and these shared ideals i sincerely hope and firmly believe that they will continue to promote
13:09this policy without any change whatsoever i also sincerely hope that they will focus their attention on providing
13:18support to neighboring countries that are currently members of the icc to ensure that they do not succumb to the
13:26pressures of this new u.s campaign and decide to withdraw that is truly where i would like to see
13:32them focus their efforts
13:35it is my sincere hope and firm belief that they will work alongside the other member states of the international
13:42criminal court to clearly articulate their collective will in an unambiguous manner
13:50moreover looking ahead over the medium to long term we must carefully consider and implement robust
13:56measures including comprehensive legal protections to guarantee that the young people who follow in my
14:02footsteps are able to pursue their careers abroad with complete peace of mind even in the unfortunate event
14:08that a situation like this were to occur once more more over i believe we should incorporate what i call
14:15the core crimes of the rome statute into our domestic law these are the four most serious crimes and that
14:21list includes war crimes as well in a systematic and comprehensive manner we must also formally accede
14:28to the genocide convention and establish a robust legal framework that empowers japan to effectively
14:33prosecute these grave and heinous crimes wherever they may have been committed across the globe in accordance
14:39with the principle of complementarity as it is explicitly articulated within the rome statute
14:45maintaining a constant state of readiness to exercise that significant authority at any given moment would
14:50provide essential support to the international criminal court and would effectively serve as a vital safety net
14:56for the maintenance of regional stability as well as the long-term peace and security of all people
15:01including those living within japan and its neighboring nations
15:04i truly hope that this matter will be given the serious consideration it deserves at this time
15:11i was able to sense that clear intention in the statements made by prime minister takaichi and foreign
15:18minister motegi yesterday in closing i firmly believe that japan acting as a steadfast champion of the rule of law
15:27and a prominent regional leader will continue to expand its influence and presence through a wide array of
15:33meaningful activities i hold very high expectations for each and every one of you as you move forward thank
15:38you for your time and dedication
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