The US President’s abrupt departure from diplomatic tone makes life difficult for German politics. Can one hold on to the transatlantic partnership when the rhetoric of the US President and the measures he has ordered hardly allow for any other conclusion than that the transatlantic alliance has been unilaterally terminated, albeit not in words, under his predecessors?
Donald Trump’s latest coup hits the International Criminal Court (ICC). Trump has imposed sanctions on the ICC. The reason is that the ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is accused of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Trump accuses the court of abuse of power. Trump is not the first US President to dislike the ICC, as do all his predecessors.
What is problematic is that the German government is a strong supporter of international criminal prosecution and the rule of law. Germany has not only welcomed but even euphorically celebrated the issuance of an arrest warrant for Putin. In the case of Netanyahu, the tone was much more subdued.
Germany’s top international law expert, stuck in the body of the Foreign Minister, faces a challenge with the sanctions against the ICC. How can one continue to profess commitment to the transatlantic partnership, subordinate German interests to those of the US and still issue a press release on the topic? Annalena Baerbock (The Greens) has found a solution to the problem. The US is only mentioned once, in the headline – one that she did not write herself:
“Außenministerin Annalena Baerbock on the US sanctions against the ICC”.
She then praises the founding of the ICC as a fundamental breakthrough. “The International Criminal Court is one of the greatest achievements of international criminal law and is supported by more than 120 states.” The US, however, does not, as she could have mentioned at this point, but omits it.
She then quickly moves on to her favorite topic: Putin. He is mentioned three times in a press release that is supposed to be about the US and its sanctions against the ICC.
“If the ICC were not able to continue its work, that would indeed be a great joy for Putin. Putin has had to experience in the past three years that his crimes against humanity, such as the abduction of Ukrainian children, do not go unpunished. Putin, for example, could not attend the BRICS summit in South Africa because South Africa, as a signatory to the Rome Statute, would have had to arrest him. No one stands above the law of nations.”
The last sentence is wrong in several respects. It is clear that all US Presidents since the Second World War, including Benjamin Netanyahu and also Germany, no longer act völkerrechtskonform. Only mentioned here is the sabotage of the binding international agreement Minsk II and the also international law-binding 2+4 Treaty, which forms the basis of German unity.
With her statement, Baerbock also makes it clear that, for her, international law is only a means to an end. If it helps to condemn Putin, then international law is a super thing. The green Foreign Minister is only interested in international law when it fits her purposes. Otherwise, it’s of no concern to her.