Dutch MPs have called on the cabinet to take concrete steps at a national level to protect the International Criminal Court, following America’s decision to impose sanctions if Americans and officials from allied countries, including Israel, are investigated.

Legislation adopted by the US House of Representatives earlier this month sanctions “any individual working to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute American citizens or an official from an allied US country, including Israel,” as well as their family members.

The sanctions would also apply to “anyone who has materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of any effort by the International Criminal Court to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute a protected person”.

The Netherlands, as host country of the court, has a special responsibility to protect the independence and effective functioning of the court, the MPs say. In addition, they want the cabinet to work at a European level to minimise the impact of potential American action.

According to an analysis by the Volkskrant, the Netherlands is particularly at risk, given that it hosts the ICC and that everyone who has been arrested ends up on Dutch soil. Although detention is up to the court, everything between Schiphol airport and the 12 ICC cells at Scheveningen jail is the responsibility of the Netherlands.

The motion was opposed by the far-right PVV and BBB from the ruling coalition, as well as fringe far-right parties.