Nobel Peace Prize winner Navi Pillay has criticised US President Donald Trump’s sanctions against the International Criminal Court, calling them illegal and saying he needs a lesson in international law. Speaking to AFP on Wednesday, the 85-year-old former judge also questioned the timing of the measures.
Pillay said it was no accident that Washington announced the sanctions only hours after her Nobel was revealed. In her view, the move was a response to the fact that the award had not gone to Trump. Asked what she would tell the president, she suggested he consult his legal advisers about what international law actually requires.
US sanctions aimed at the court’s operations
The United States announced the sanctions on Friday, with the stated aim of crippling the court’s day-to-day work. The ICC tries individuals accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Trump’s administration has said it intends to dismantle the court brick by brick, angered by judges issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged crimes in Gaza.
Pillay pointed out that earlier US administrations had praised an ICC arrest warrant issued against Russian President Vladimir Putin. She described that approach as inconsistent. “That’s selective, that’s double standards, and that’s wrong,” she said.
The sanctions will target the court’s technology and banking operations and take effect in six months. During that period, Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten has called for talks with Washington on reforming the court, which is based in The Hague. Pillay dismissed the idea of reform as a euphemism. According to her, Trump’s real demand is an undertaking that the court will not investigate US citizens.
“You can’t do that, because you can’t have double standards. You can’t selectively pursue one lot of people and not the other,” Pillay told AFP. She warned that such a step would set a very dangerous precedent.
Israeli backlash and the Netanyahu case
Pillay also responded to Israeli officials who reacted angrily to her Nobel. She previously chaired the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry, which concluded last year that genocide was taking place in Gaza. Netanyahu described her as a “bigot”, while Israel’s foreign ministry said the Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels must be “applauding from hell” at her award.
“I think it’s very hurtful and insulting,” Pillay said. She added that Goebbels “had blood on his hands” and was responsible for the deaths of thousands of people, not only Jews but also people of colour like her.
Pillay acknowledged that there is little political appetite for arresting Netanyahu to face the ICC’s accusations, which he strongly denies. Asked whether he would ever appear in the dock, she said she was confident it would happen. “But all my life I’ve seen people get around difficulties, so I’m confident that it will happen,” she said.
Pillay reflects on the award and her plans
Pillay said she was still coming to terms with the news. She initially found it hard to believe, pointing to the small number of women who have received the prize and calling the imbalance a gross inequality.
At 85, she said her age would limit how far she can travel to promote international justice. “I think that age will constrain me somewhat. I can’t be as active as I used to,” she said. She noted that she had visited 79 countries while serving as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Pillay said she was consulting people on how to use the prize, worth 12 million Swedish krona ($1.2 million), and hinted that part of it could be invested in South Africa. “Africa is suffering. South Africa is suffering. It’s very difficult to raise funds there,” she said. She added that the University of KwaZulu-Natal had set up a unit in her name and that she planned to begin discussions with the institution, adding, “I believe in education for children and the youth.”
