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KABUL – The United States’ recent sanctions on International Criminal Court (ICC) officials working on Afghanistan have drawn sharp criticism from the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, Richard Bennett, who called the measures “a devastating blow to victims worldwide” and a threat to the independence of international justice.
Bennett, writing on X, said the sanctions targeting two judges and two deputy prosecutors—including Judge Kimberly Prost—undermine a critical investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Afghanistan over decades. “The Afghanistan investigation is crucial for justice,” he stressed, urging Washington to reverse the sanctions immediately.
The US State Department justified the move as a response to what it described as “malign efforts by the ICC” to investigate possible crimes by US and Israeli forces, prompting international concern that political considerations are overriding accountability for atrocities.
A coalition of UN human rights experts issued a joint statement on Friday, warning that sanctioning ICC judges and prosecutors sends a dangerous signal to the world: that power, rather than law, can shield perpetrators. “ICC legal professionals must be protected from reprisals and allowed to act independently and without fear,” the statement said.
The ICC’s Afghanistan investigation, launched after the country joined the Rome Statute in 2003, has long been seen as a landmark effort to hold perpetrators of grave crimes accountable and secure justice for victims. Human rights groups emphasize that progress has been slow due to political resistance, jurisdictional limits, and obstruction from local authorities.
While the court’s latest actions earlier this year included arrest warrants for senior Afghan leaders, Bennett and other UN experts warn that US sanctions threaten to stall the entire process, jeopardizing accountability for decades of suffering.
