Week-ending 7 February 2025
“Behind its misleading name, International Reporters is actually a new website serving Moscow’s interests. Funded by the Kremlin’s propaganda networks, it uses foreign propagandists — often based in Russia — to reach an international audience. Their so-called ‘reports’ disseminate Russian narratives justifying the invasion of Ukraine and promoting the Kremlin’s policies on a global scale. RSF condemns this propaganda tool, which pollutes the information space.
– Jeanne Cavelier, Head of RSF Eastern Europe and Central Asia Desk.
Source: ‘International Reporters: the new website where foreign propagandists spread Russian disinformation,’ RSF, 5 February 2025
Background from RSF: For over a year, the Kremlin-funded website International Reporters has been masquerading as a professional news outlet in order to spread Russian disinformation. Using a misleading name that implies its content contains real journalism, the website assembles propagandists from all corners of the globe to promote the Kremlin’s false narratives that justify the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and celebrate Russia’s foreign policy. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns this new propaganda tool, which pollutes the information space and intentionally misleads the public.
“No one responsible for crimes under international law should be protected or aided in their attempts to escape individual accountability, least of all with the assistance of the US government based on President Trump’s political alliances. At an historic moment when we are witnessing a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, and the global rule of law coming under threat from multiple fronts, institutions like the Court are needed more than ever to advance human rights protections, prevent future atrocities and secure justice for victims. This attack against the ICC seeks to damage the Court’s independent pursuit of international justice. The sanctions issued will harm accountability, a crucial ingredient to global and long-term security. They will embolden perpetrators, present and future. They will negatively impact the interests of all victims globally and those who look to the Court for justice in all the countries where it’s conducting investigations, including Darfur, Libya, the Philippines, Palestine, Ukraine and Venezuela.”
– Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, in response to the executive order announced by President Trump imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Source: ‘USA: Sanctions against International Criminal Court betray international justice system,’ Amnesty International, 6 January 2025
Background from Amnesty International: On 14 January, Amnesty International, the Coalition for the International Criminal Court and more than 140 of its member NGOs and coalitions from around the world issued a joint statement opposing US efforts to impose sanctions related to the ICC and urging member states to defend the Court, its officials, and those cooperating with it from measures aimed at undermining its vital mandate for justice.
“Our organisations call on the United States to cease any effort, including through sanctions, to derail the ICC’s independent judicial processes, and commit to supporting access to justice for all victims and survivors of serious international crimes, including before the ICC.”
– Coalition for the ICC.
Source: Oppose Sanctions Against the International Criminal Court, Safeguard Victims’ Access to Justice, Coalition for the International Criminal Court, 14 January 2025
Background from Coalition for the ICC: The Coalition for the International Criminal Court and more than 140 of its member non-governmental organisations and coalitions from around the globe strongly oppose efforts by the United States of America (US) to impose sanctions related to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and urge ICC member states to defend the ICC, its officials, and those cooperating with it from measures aimed at undermining the court’s vital mandate for justice.
