Global Backlash Against Trump’s Sanctions on ICC
THE HAGUE – Former U.S. President Donald Trump imposed economic and travel sanctions on individuals involved in International Criminal Court (ICC) investigations targeting American citizens and allies like Israel. The move sparked widespread condemnation, including from some of the U.S.’s closest allies.
The United States, along with China, Russia, and Israel, is not a member of the ICC, which prosecutes individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and aggression within its member states’ territories or by their nationals.
Trump signed an executive order on Thursday, accusing the Hague-based court of overstepping its authority by issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The order includes asset freezes and travel bans on designated individuals, as well as restrictions on their families. The sanctions were imposed after Senate Democrats blocked a Republican-led effort to pass legislation targeting the court.
The sanctions could disrupt the ICC’s evidence-gathering operations and potentially deter victims from coming forward. The court condemned the move, calling it an attack on its independence and impartiality. ICC President Tomoko Akane described the sanctions as a “serious attack” on global justice, warning that they undermine international law and the rights of victims seeking accountability.
Seventy-nine ICC member states, including Britain, France, and Canada, criticized the U.S. action, warning that it could endanger witnesses, court officials, and victims. France reaffirmed its commitment to the ICC, with its foreign ministry vowing to support the court’s mission. Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office stated that Britain had no plans to impose similar measures on ICC officials.
The United Nations and the European Union also urged Trump to lift the sanctions, with UN human rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani emphasizing that the ICC plays a crucial role in holding perpetrators accountable when states fail to do so.
Trump justified the sanctions by claiming the ICC was conducting politically motivated investigations into U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Israeli military actions in Gaza. Netanyahu denounced the court’s actions as anti-Semitic.
The ICC had issued arrest warrants on November 21 for Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas’s military chief Mohammed Deif, citing “reasonable grounds” to believe they were responsible for war crimes, including the starvation of civilians in Gaza and crimes against humanity such as murder and persecution.
During his first term, Trump had previously imposed financial and travel restrictions on former ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda in response to her investigation into alleged U.S. war crimes in Afghanistan.
