By Merve Aydogan
HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - The head of the UN expressed support Thursday for the International Criminal Court (ICC) after it issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense chief Yoav Gallant.
Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a news conference that "the Secretary-General (Antonio Guterres) respects the work and independence of the international criminal court," when he was asked about the warrants.
In response to a question from Anadolu about whether Israeli officials with arrest warrants would be able to participate in future UN events at the New York headquarters, Dujarric refrained from commenting on "hypothetical" incidents and said the security personnel of the headquarters are there to "keep the building safe. They're not here to arrest people."
"Any travel by anyone who's indicted by the ICC would also involve the state in which UN conference or UN headquarters are located," he added.
He noted that "the rule is that there should not be any contacts between UN officials and individuals subject to arrest warrants."
In case of an operational issue or fundamental matters, however, senior officials of relevant UN organizations may have limited contact with those with arrest warrants.
In response to Anadolu's question about the responsibility of member states to the ICC ruling, he said that "across the board, member states have signed up to various treaties and organizations and charters. If you sign up to them, it is important to fulfill the obligations. But this applies to everything."
He refrained from calling the onslaught in the Gaza Strip a "genocide" or "war crime," but told Anadolu that "various parts of the of the UN, including the secretary general, and including the High Commissioner for Human Rights -- I think, have been very clear in their in their concern about the violations and flagrant violations of international law that we've seen."
Asked about whether the UN chief's possible contact with individuals with arrest warrants undermines the ICC's work, Dujarric said that the "secretary general respects the work of the ICC. He respects its independence."
"As I've said, there are clear guidelines that have been agreed to between the International Criminal Court and the United Nations on ways for the secretary general or senior officials to continue to do their work," he added.