Following threats by the US administration to sanction the International Criminal Court (ICC), the Dutch government has considered promoting the court's legitimacy, the Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday.

"The Netherlands wants to promote the interests of the ICC and will actively approach countries that are not yet to become members," Foreign Minister Stef Blok said in the Dutch parliament last week.

On Sept 10, US National Security Adviser John Bolton attacked the ICC and threatened The Hague-based international body with sanctions for being "ineffective, unaccountable, and dangerous."

The ICC was founded on July 1, 2002, the date its founding treaty the Rome Statute came into force.

Some 123 countries have become party of the statute, and thus members of the ICC while others, including the US, Russia and China, have not ratified the Rome Statute.

The US anger is centred around an ICC request for an investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Afghanistan. The investigation could implicate US citizens.

The ICC prosecutor said there is a reasonable basis to believe that the Taliban, Afghan security forces, US armed forces and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) committed war crimes from 2003-2004.

Bolton said the US "will use any means necessary to protect" its citizens and those of allies from "unjust prosecution by this illegitimate court."

"We will ban its judges and prosecutors from entering the US, will sanction their funds in the US financial system, and will prosecute them in the US criminal system.'’

- Bernama