Human rights advocates said the administration’s decision diminished American standing on rule of law globally and undercut U.S. efforts to bring war criminals to justice in places like Myanmar, where the state has sanctioned a genocide against its Rohingya Muslim minorities. “When we’re trying to support accountability in Myanmar, and the ICC is looking at that situation and has asserted jurisdiction over that, how do we then turn around and sanction the very individuals who are doing what we praised in the past?” said Beth Van Schaack, a Stanford University law professor and former State Department official who worked on war crimes prevention.

Read More