Pillay slams US sanctions against the ICC

 

TT

 

Published 17.33

 

Navanethem "Navi" Pillay during a video address at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo on Saturday. Photo: Siv Johanne Seglem/NTB/TT

The US decision to impose even harsher sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) than before is drawing criticism from Navanethem "Navi" Pillay, who is being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize this year.

"It is unprecedented and unacceptable," says Pillay in a video address given during an event at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo on Saturday.

Just hours after the human rights defender—who, in a UN-commissioned inquiry, concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, among other findings—was awarded the prize, the US announced through Secretary of State Marco Rubio that new sanctions would be imposed on the ICC to hinder the court's work.

Pillay, an expert in international law, has held numerous high-profile positions during her international career, including serving as a judge at the ICC in The Hague between 2003 and 2008.