President-elect Joe Biden is facing increasing pressure from foreign allies, international justice advocates, and some of his own advisors to lift U.S. sanctions on Fatou Bensouda, the Gambian lawyer who leads the International Criminal Court, and a chief ICC aide.
Once he’s inaugurated, Biden has vowed to take a number of steps—including rejoining the Paris climate accord and reversing the current administration’s decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization—aimed at assuring key allies that the new American leader is committed to multilateralism and cooperating on a range of vexing global challenges. He has largely remained silent on his plans for the international tribunal, but sources familiar with the deliberations say that Biden is likely to lift sanctions on the court’s personnel early in his term.
