Iran10 October, 20262 min read
European Parliament Urges Security Council To Refer Iran To International Criminal Court
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European Parliament calls Security Council to refer Iran to the ICC. Cites accountability for human rights violations and executions in Iran.
Europe pushes ICC referral
The European Parliament called on the Security Council to refer the Iranian regime to the International Criminal Court, framing the move as a step to hold accountable those responsible for human rights violations and executions in Iran. The European Parliament stressed that continued executions and the carrying out of sentences against prisoners and dissidents, along with pursuing protesters and political activists and human rights defenders, require more serious action by the international community. The European Parliament reaffirmed its support for efforts to document violations and collect evidence related to crimes committed against protesters and political dissidents, and it stressed the importance of cooperating with relevant international bodies so evidence is not lost.
The European Parliament’s demand also tied accountability to international legal mechanisms, with the European Parliament emphasizing the need to end impunity and deliver justice for the victims. The European Parliament described its call as a significant political and legal escalation in the European stance toward Iran, because it ties human rights violations to the need for international judicial action.
Iran attacks ICC threats
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei denounced US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s threat to dismantle the International Criminal Court “brick by brick” if Washington’s allies fail to rein in the tribunal. Baghaei challenged European governments directly by asking, “Does standing by an alliance mean defending international law and the post-WWII normative & institutional framework – or standing with the U.S. as it dismantles them?” Baghaei warned that sacrificing law and justice to appease an aggressive ally reduces talk of human rights and a “rules-based international order” to “empty rhetoric.”
Baghaei also argued that the US ruling establishment manufactured an “imaginary enemy in the sky” to frighten its own population and divert attention from the real threat on the ground. Baghaei said the real danger lies in a ruling establishment that has imposed an illegal war on the world, with global consequences.
UN chief condemns sanctions
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the United States’ imposition of sanctions against the International Criminal Court as an institution, according to his spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric. Dujarric told journalists that Guterres was “deeply alarmed” by the expected impact on the court’s “continued ability to perform its important mandates”. The ICC described the sanctions as “an assault on the rule of law and on the very foundations of the international legal order,” and the ICC said the step was unprecedented.
ICC President Tomoko Akane said, “The court will continue to fully discharge its mandate, with independence and impartiality,” acting only on the basis of the law and the evidence. The UN statement added that the UN remains committed to cooperating with the ICC under the relationship agreement approved by the General Assembly on September 13, 2004.