Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney reaffirmed his government’s “unequivocal” support for the International Criminal Court (ICC), saying Ottawa stands behind Canadian judge Kimberly Prost after the United States imposed sanctions on her over the court’s Afghanistan investigation.
As reported by IRAF, Carney described the ICC as an indispensable institution at a time when the world is becoming increasingly unstable, stressing that international law remains a cornerstone of Canada’s foreign policy.
He declined, however, to explain why his government had remained publicly silent for an extended period following Washington’s move against the senior Canadian jurist.
Prost, an ICC judge, was sanctioned by the United States after the court formally advanced proceedings related to alleged war crimes committed by U.S. military personnel during the two decades of American military operations in Afghanistan.
According to the report, the sanctions have affected Prost’s access to financial services, including the freezing of her credit cards, prompting her to file a lawsuit in a New York court seeking relief from the restrictions.
Several U.S. allies, including France, had previously condemned Washington’s sanctions against ICC judges, while Canada had refrained from issuing a clear public response until Carney’s latest remarks.
The dispute comes as U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has publicly stated that Washington is working to dismantle the ICC and has urged allied countries to withdraw from the court’s jurisdiction.
Analysts say the legacy of alleged war crimes and human rights cases linked to the Afghanistan conflict has continued to fuel tensions between the United States and some of its Western allies over their commitment to international legal institutions, years after the withdrawal of Western forces from Afghanistan.
