Spain Urges EU to Protect ICC and UN Independence

Istanbul - The Spanish Prime Minister has called on the European Commission to take steps to protect the independence of the International Criminal Court and the United Nations, as well as their efforts to end the genocide in Gaza. “We ask the Commission to activate the Anti-Coercion Instrument to protect the independence of the International Criminal Court and the United Nations, and their actions to end the genocide in Gaza,” said Pedro Sanchez on X on Wednesday. He stated that Spain “will not turn away” and warned that sanctioning those who defend international justice would risk damaging the human rights system. The European Union cannot remain a spectator “in the face of this persecution,” he added. The Israeli military has killed more than 72,600 people, mostly women and children, and injured more than 172,000 in deadly attacks in Gaza since October 2023, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Although a ceasefire has been in place since last October, Israel has refused to allow the agreed amount of humanitarian aid supplies into the territory, where around 2.4 million Palestinians, including 1.5 million refugees, face extremely dire humanitarian conditions.