EU foreign policy chief demands ICC protection amid 'immense pressure'

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas demanded urgent protection for the International Criminal Court on Monday, warning that the tribunal is under "immense pressure" from political actors seeking to undermine international justice.

'Immense pressure' on world court

Speaking at a UN General Assembly side event on humanitarian diplomacy and international humanitarian law, Kallas stated that defending existing judicial mechanisms represents the first line of protection for international law. "First, we defend the mechanisms we already have to uphold International Humanitarian Law, domestic courts as well as international courts, the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, the ICC," she said, noting that accountability forms the cornerstone of this legal framework. "Contrary to what should be happening, the ICC is now under immense pressure," Kallas added, warning that such pressure extends beyond the institution itself to challenge the fundamental commitment to the post-World War II international legal order.

The Estonian diplomat emphasized that the ICC embodies the global promise that victims of the gravest international crimes will not be abandoned when accountability becomes politically inconvenient. "And let us not forget, the ICC is the world's promise that victims of the gravest international crimes will not be forgotten because accountability has become politically inconvenient. We must protect it," she said.

Mechanisms for justice

Kallas argued that international law itself requires no revision, but warned that impunity breeds impunity as she outlined three pathways to strengthen accountability. She cited the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials alongside tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda as historical precedents, adding that the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine represents a contemporary mechanism for pursuing justice where existing structures prove insufficient.

Evidence in conflict zones

The EU foreign policy chief highlighted bloc-backed documentation efforts regarding alleged war crimes in Syria and a UN-led investigation into Afghanistan, stressing that preserving evidence in Gaza remains essential as rubble-clearing operations commence. "Be it in Syria, Afghanistan, Gaza, or anywhere in conflict, accountability cannot be selective or else the entire system is called into question," she said, underscoring that selective justice risks delegitimizing the entire international legal architecture.