What to know about the International Criminal Court as annual meeting lays out challenges

THE HAGUE Netherlands AP The mood is grim in The Hague as hundreds of diplomats lawyers and activists gather this week for the annual meeting of the International Criminal Court to discuss unprecedented challenges including U S sanctions Russian arrest warrants and worries over the court s future During her opening address Monday the court s president Judge Tomoko Akane notified delegations from member states that the institution remains defiant We never accept any kind of pressure Akane stated But with no prosecutor at the helm multiple staff members under sanction and countries pulling out a multitude of outside the meeting are wondering how the court will survive The Assembly of States parties is under way The ICC was established in as the world s permanent court of last resort to prosecute subjects accused of the most of heinous atrocities war crimes crimes against humanity genocide and the crime of aggression The court s oversight body the Assembly of States Parties is holding its th annual meeting which is scheduled to continue through Saturday Delegates will approve the court s yearly budget and debate proposals related to the institution s functions At the meeting held in a theater and conference center that will soon host a performance of The Nutcracker ballet court leaders are seeking to obtain commitments from member nations for million euros million to fund operations next year Trump sanctions are having an impact Nine staff members including six judges and the court s chief prosecutor have been sanctioned by U S President Donald Trump for pursuing investigations into U S and Israeli officers The U S is among the powerful nations that are not members of the court along with Israel Russia and China The U S sanctions have taken a toll on the court s work across a broad array of investigations at a time when the institution is juggling ever more demands on its support They have cast an odd shadow over the event Human Rights First Director Adam Keith advised The Associated Press Two U S -based human rights groups pulled out of events concerned about realizable sanctions violations Another organization the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights kept U S staff out of meetings where any of the sanctioned staff were present Prosecutor s misconduct scenario overshadows business An item not on the agenda but widely discussed in the hallways is the ongoing inspection into assertions of sexual misconduct by the court s chief prosecutor Karim Khan who has temporarily stepped down while a United Nations watchdog conducts an external probe However the account has yet to be filed a year after the assertions against Khan were submitted After repeated delays the overview is scheduled to be finalized at the end of the year according to senior diplomatic sources who are not authorized to speak on the record A panel of judges appointed by the Assembly of States Parties will then have at least days to evaluate its contents and make recommendations I am well aware that states have been frustrated with the length of this process assembly President P ivi Kaukoranta declared in her opening address Monday Advocacy ebbing among selected member states Since last year s meeting four countries have revealed they will pull out of the court Hungary refused to arrest Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu despite an ICC arrest warrant in April before announcing its intention to withdraw from court membership In September Mali Burkina Faso and Niger also announced they would leave but have not yet formalized their departures In January Italy where the court s foundational treaty the Rome Statute was signed in sent a demanded Libya warlord home rather than turning him over to the ICC The court has no police force and relies on cooperation from member states to arrest accused and send them to The Hague to face justice New trials are on the horizon The courtrooms have seen a spike in activity At the start of the court was in the final stages of the only remaining item on the docket the trial of Central African Republic militia commander Mahamat Announced Abdel Kani who is charged with multiple counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes As the year draws to a close the court has taken custody of two more persons In March former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte was sent to the ICC on a warrant accusing him of crimes against humanity for deadly anti-drugs crackdowns he oversaw while in office On Monday Germany handed over Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri who was arrested in July and accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes while serving as a senior commander in a Tripoli prison Source