Human rights advocate calls for ICC reform to address perceived bias

The International Criminal Court (ICC) needs sweeping reform to ensure that powerful countries are held to the same standards as the rest of the world, human rights advocate David Lopez has said.

The Hague-based ICC was established in 2002 under the Rome Statute to prosecute genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression. It has long faced accusations of political bias and selective justice.

Speaking to RT on Tuesday, Lopez said that over the past two decades, cases in Africa and the Global South have received disproportionate attention, while alleged crimes involving powerful Western countries have gone unpunished.

He referenced the 2003 Iraq war, claims of CIA torture, and the conflict in Gaza as examples, noting that alleged US crimes in the case of Afghanistan were set aside due to pressure from Washington.

“Justice with no power over the powerful is colonial administration of the law,” he said.

The court must be “decolonized” through structural reforms that give Africa, Asia, and Latin America greater representation and reduce its financial dependence on Western countries, Lopez argued.

The ICC currently has 125 member states, but major powers, including the US, Russia, China, and India, are not among them. Israel also rejects its jurisdiction.

Washington has sanctioned ICC judges, prosecutors, and other staff over cases involving US and Israeli nationals. The court issued arrest warrants in 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

The institution is also facing growing opposition from member states. Venezuela and Chad have recently announced plans to withdraw, bringing to five the number of countries seeking to leave over the past year, alongside Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. The three African states have accused the ICC of selective justice and neocolonialism.