Since gaining independence in 1962, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago has committed itself to upholding international norms concerning sovereignty, peace, security, humanitarian values, and justice. The country holds membership in the United Nations and the International Criminal Court (ICC) and has ratified numerous global treaties.
During challenging periods, the Government has consistently supported fellow UN members in defending nations’ rights to self-determination. A notable example occurred in December 1972 when Eric Williams of Trinidad and Tobago, Errol Barrow of Barbados, Michael Manley of Jamaica, and Forbes Burnham of Guyana signed a landmark agreement to establish diplomatic ties with Cuba despite the US embargo. This bold move was undertaken amid Cold War tensions and worsening US-Cuba relations.
For many years, Caricom countries, including Trinidad and Tobago, have reaped substantial benefits from their association with Cuba, which has emerged as a key development ally. Cuba’s assistance has been particularly vital in bolstering the regional health sector and providing swift aid during natural disasters. Recently, however, the US has disrupted this collaboration by pressuring Caricom nations to halt the involvement of Cuban doctors and restrict training opportunities previously available to local populations.
Furthermore, the Trinidad and Tobago Government has aligned itself with US foreign policy efforts aimed at undermining the ICC. Such a stance reflects a profound moral failure. It is important to recall that ANR Robinson, a former prime minister and president of Trinidad and Tobago, is internationally recognized as a chief architect of the ICC, created in 2002 to bring to account those responsible for crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide, and extrajudicial killings. Yet the current UNC-led Government has chosen to forsake the international principles and conventions to which the country is committed—principles that promote peace, security, non-intervention, and human rights protection.
Put simply, Trinidad and Tobago has become a rogue state.
On August 18th, the US intensified its assault on the ICC by imposing sanctions on ICC President Tomoko Akane and senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye. This move has been strongly denounced by the ICC, the UN, and the EU. The ICC described the sanctions as a blatant attack on its officials, likening the US behavior to a school bully threatening the administration for holding it accountable.
Such direct efforts to dismantle the ICC set a dangerous precedent by eliminating oversight of leaders committing humanitarian abuses.
The US has supported Israel’s genocidal actions in Gaza and the West Bank, enforced an oil blockade on Cuba alongside the longstanding embargo, assassinated Iranian political leaders during negotiations, and alongside Israel, initiated an unwarranted war on Iran causing thousands of civilian casualties, including schoolchildren. Additionally, the US has bombed vital civilian infrastructure in Iran and backs Israel’s assaults on Lebanon and illegal territorial seizures.
Having positioned itself as a defender of the international rules-based order, the US now seeks to dismantle the very system that safeguards global peace and human rights.
Despite these aggressive US measures against the ICC, the Trinidad and Tobago Government remains silent. The US urges countries aligned with its law enforcement and military or benefiting from its security umbrella to reject the ICC’s authority to prosecute American personnel and to support sanctions against ICC officials.
While the UNC-led administration may appear complicit in the US attacks on small vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific, it is notable that the US focus is on protecting American leaders and service members from accountability for war crimes, rather than those of its partners.
The campaign to dismantle the ICC must be firmly opposed and condemned by all—government bodies, businesses, labor, civil society, and the public. Citizens must demand that their leaders uphold international agreements designed to foster peace and security worldwide.
In the absence of an international framework regulating leadership conduct and enforcing human rights, the world risks descending into chaos, lawlessness, and rising humanitarian abuses as dominant nations exploit weaker ones.
The danger affects us all!
Original article: trinidadexpress.com
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