Slovenia to uphold ICC arrest warrants
The International Criminal Court in The Hague. Photo: Nebojša Tejić/STA
Prime Minister Robert Golob has responded to the International Criminal Court's (ICC) decision to issue arrest warrants for leading Israeli and Hamas officials by saying Slovenia will fully comply with it.
"Slovenia respects the decision of the International Criminal Court on arrest warrants for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity and will fully comply with it," Golob was quoted as saying in a post on the government's X profile late on 21 November.
Golob responded hours after the court issued warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas's military commander Mohammed Deif. Israel has said Deif was killed in an air strike in Gaza in July.
Former Slovenian President Danilo Türk described the arrest warrants as an important decision that showed the life force of international criminal law.
"We know the wheels of the legal system turn slowly but it is crucial that they turn reliably and fairly," said Türk, who served as UN assistant secretary-general for political affairs under Secretary General Kofi Annan from 2000 to 2005.
Netanyahu condemned the ICC's decision as "antisemitic", while the White House said the US rejected it.
Meanwhile, the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called on EU member states to respect the court's decision and implement it.
All EU countries have ratified the Rome Statute treaty that established the ICC. The court's 124 member states do not include Israel or the US, nor China, India or Russia.
The three-member pre-trial chamber that issued the arrest warrants included Slovenian ICC judge Beti Hohler.
