HAMILTON, Canada

The UN chief on Thursday expressed support for the International Criminal Court (ICC) after it issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense chief Yoav Gallant.

Spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told a news conference that “the secretary-general (Antonio Guterres) respects the work and independence of the International Criminal Court,” when asked about the arrest warrants. .

In response to a question from Anadolu about the possibility of Israeli officials with arrest warrants participating in future UN events at UN headquarters in New York, Dujarric refrained from commenting on incidents ” hypotheticals” and said headquarters security personnel were there to “keep the building safe. They are not there to arrest people.

“Any travel by anyone indicted by the ICC would also involve the state in which the UN conference or UN headquarters is located,” he added.

He stressed that “the rule is that there must be no contact between UN officials and individuals subject to arrest warrants.”

However, in the event of operational problems or fundamental issues, senior officials of relevant United Nations organizations may have limited contact with persons subject to arrest warrants.

In response to Anadolu’s question on the responsibility of member states for the ICC decision, he said that “by and large, member states have signed various treaties, organizations and charters. If you sign them, it is important to respect the obligations. But this applies to everything.

He stopped short of calling the attack in the Gaza Strip a “genocide” or a “war crime”, but told Anadolu that “various parts of the UN, including the secretary general and the High Commissioner for Human Rights, I think, have expressed very clearly their concern about the violations and flagrant violations of international law that we have witnessed.

Asked whether the UN chief’s possible contact with individuals subject to arrest warrants undermines the work of the ICC, Dujarric said that “the secretary-general respects the work of the ICC. He respects its independence.

“As I said, there are clear guidelines that have been agreed between the International Criminal Court and the United Nations on how the secretary-general or senior officials can continue to do their job,” he said. he added.

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