Three ICC judges and four rights groups have sued over earlier sanctions
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions on August 18 against the president and a senior prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, the latest escalation in the Trump administration’s campaign to dismantle the Hague-based tribunal. The designations target ICC President Tomoko Akane of Japan and Senior Trial Lawyer Abdoulaye Seye of Senegal.
In a statement, Rubio accused the two officials of directly engaging “in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute officials whose government has not consented to ICC jurisdiction.” He called the ICC a “corrupt and fatally politicized supranational court that has maliciously abused its authority and exceeded its mandate” and said the United States “will not tolerate its assault on state sovereignty.”
The sanctions include asset freezes, travel bans, and restrictions on services from US companies. The measures prevent the designated individuals from accessing the US financial system, as US-linked banks and dollar-clearing banks are expected to comply with the restrictions.
The new designations bring the total number of ICC officials sanctioned by the US to at least 13. The Trump administration previously sanctioned at least 11 ICC officials, including nine judges and the chief prosecutor, in retaliation for the court’s investigations into US personnel in Afghanistan and for warrants the court issued against senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Netanyahu has denied allegations of war crimes and accused the court of being motivated by antisemitism. Neither the US nor Israel are members of the ICC.
The ICC, established in 2002, has international jurisdiction to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in member states or when a situation is referred by the UN Security Council. The court has 125 member countries.
Last month, Rubio called on the ICC’s 125 member countries to withdraw from the court as part of the US campaign to dismantle it “brick by brick.” A US official said Washington would “watch with interest” who heeded the call. In a July video statement announcing the campaign, Rubio accused the ICC of “waging a war against our country” with “statutes, compacts and the force of so-called international law.” He added: “If they believe they can deprive us of our sovereignty, we will teach them the full meaning of American resolve.”
The ICC has been approached for comment. Neither President Trump nor the White House has so far commented on the latest sanctions.
The Trump administration’s pressure campaign has drawn legal challenges. In June, three ICC judges — Kimberly Prost of Canada, Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda, and Reine Alapini-Gansou of Benin — sued the administration in a New York federal court over sanctions imposed on them last year, arguing the measures were designed to “exert extrajudicial pressure” with the objective of punishing and coercing the judges. A White House official said at the time that Trump had lawfully exercised his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) in imposing the sanctions.
Four leading US human rights groups — Human Rights Watch, the Open Society Institute, the American Friends Service Committee, and the Center for Constitutional Rights — filed a separate lawsuit in New York last week, calling the sanctions campaign unconstitutional. The groups said the sanctions prevented them from working with the court to seek justice for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity around the world.
Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch, said at a press conference last week that “The Trump administration seeks a get-out-of-jail-free card for whomever it chooses.” Rights organizations have broadly pushed back against what they view as the Trump administration’s attempts to undermine international law and stifle efforts to combat impunity.
Israeli media have reported that Seye is overseeing the ICC’s investigation into Israeli funding for illegal settlements and the disbursal of weapons to settlers in the West Bank. Israeli officials warned local media in May that the ICC may seek five more arrest warrants for ministers and senior military officials involved in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.