Statement on Reports of Entity-wide Sanctions Against the ICC by the US Government
On September 20, several news outlets reported that, according to inside sources, US President Trump’s administration has prepared sweeping, entity-wide sanctions against the International Criminal Court, which it plans to announce as soon as this week during the UN General Assembly meeting. Human Rights Now strongly condemns any plan of the United States government to directly sanction the International Criminal Court in any way. Such sanctions would flagrantly and illegally disrupt the Court’s ability to meet its legal mandate for its 125 member states.
The US has already sanctioned over a dozen Court personnel including the president and eight other judges, two deputy-prosecutors, and the former prosecutor, for their roles in investigations against US and Israeli military actions in Afghanistan and Palestine respectively, creating significant burdens for them and their families.
However, the plan to implement sanctions entity-wide against the ICC marks a significant escalation that will be extremely harmful to the rule of law, the international legal order, the ICC’s judicial independence, and the right of victims to justice.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has explicitly stated that the sanctions are part of a “sweeping campaign to dismantle the threat posed by the International Criminal Court” and “to systematically disable the ICC’s ability to operate.”
The sanctions are expected to make it significantly more difficult for the ICC to pay staff, protect witnesses, maintain detention facilities, and keep operating as a working tribunal. On September 21, it was reported, based on sources inside the Dutch government, that Dutch officials are looking into ways to help the Court meet these needs.
However, much more needs to be done to oppose this outrageous attack on the Court and to protect its operations. ICC member states should work together as a united front to take even stronger measures, including domestic and regional blocking legislation and increased support to the Court. We also call on member states to take action to protect other actors cooperating with the Court who have also been sanctioned, including the Special Rapporteur for Palestine and Palestinian NGOs.