ICC turns down Afghan war crimes probe as US hails victory
The Hague - The International Criminal Court turned down Friday a request to open a war crimes probe in Afghanistan, with the United States hailing a victory for its strong-armed tactic of revoking the chief prosecutor's visa.
With its limited budget, the court needs to prioritise resources on "activities that would have a better chance to succeed," the judges said. Angered, President Donald Trump's administration said it would deny visas to any ICC members involved in probing US troops and, last week, it revoked the visa of the Gambian-born Bensouda.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo highlighted that the decision came after his announcement of the visa restrictions and said: "I am glad the court reconsidered its actions." In the Afghanistan case, judges said Friday that a large number of victims had come forward: some 699 applicants in total made representations on behalf of "several millions of victims".
"In the foreseeable absence of additional resources for the coming years in the court's budget, authorising the investigation would result in the prosecution having to reallocate financial and human resources," the judges said.
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