Outcry following the sanctions announced by Trump, angered by the ICC investigation into alleged Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, as rights groups and state officials say it could have an impact to bring justice globally [Getty]
Rights groups have slammed the Trump administration’s latest move to sanction the International Criminal Court (ICC) over its probe into Israel’s war crimes in Gaza, which had issued an arrest warrant on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who was in the US this week.
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump issued a statement announcing plans to take strict action against the court – signing an executive order to authorise economic and travel sanctions against those working on ICC investigations who are citizens or allies of the US, such as Israel.
Trump accused the ICC of engaging in “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel” and claimed it had “further abused its power” following arrest warrants issued against Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes in Gaza, where well over 67,000 Palestinians have been killed.
Israel has since praised Trump’s pro-Israel move to punish the ICC, as Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar “commended” the US on social media platform X, calling the court’s investigation into Israel “immoral” and illegitimate.
Netanyahu, whose controversial visit to Washington – despite the ICC arrest warrant – was followed by Trump’s sanctions against the court, thanked the US president for the “bold” move.
While US Republicans and Israeli officials have rallied behind the ICC sanctions, rights groups and international leaders have denounced Trump’s decision as a dangerous attack on global justice and accountability.
On Friday, European Council chief Antonio Costa argued that the sanctions against the International Criminal Court threaten its “independence and undermine the international criminal justice system as a whole” in a post on X.
In defence of the ICC, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen lauded the court’s efforts in bringing “accountability for international crimes and giving a voice to victims worldwide”.
“It must be able to freely pursue the fight against global impunity. Europe will always stand for justice and the respect of international law,” she said in a post on X.
The Netherlands, the host country for legal institutions such as the ICC, denounced the move, as Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp issued a statement on X emphasising that “the court’s work is essential in the fight against impunity.”
Rights groups have argued that US actions have legitimised Israel’s military conduct in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
“The United States is ready to punish an institution that ensures the individuals most responsible for committing atrocities cannot escape justice,” human rights organisation Amnesty International said in a statement on Friday.
“No one responsible for crimes under international law should be protected or aided in their attempts to escape individual accountability, least of all with the assistance of the US government based on President Trump’s political alliances.”
Tayab Ali, director of the UK-based International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP), urged the UK government to reaffirm its support for the ICC’s independence- as a state party to the Rome Statute- as he stressed that compliance with the court is key to global justice.
However, a spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed on Friday that it supports ICC independence and will not follow the US in sanctioning officials.
ICJP’s Tayab Ali said in a statement: “The ICC’s work in the situation in Palestine is time-sensitive and, so far, one of the only effective accountability tools that might ensure those responsible for international crimes are held to account.”
After the Trump administration first sanctioned several ICC staff members in 2020 – including then-prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and senior prosecution official Phakiso Mochochoko – following the court’s investigations into Afghanistan and Palestine.
The chief of the Palestinian Legal Rights Centre warned that “any sanctions targeting the Court or individuals involved with it would not only obstruct justice, as they did in 2020, but also endanger the interests of victims and witnesses”.
News agency The Associated Press reported that groups working with the court also fear the devastating consequences of the potential scope of the sanctions.
“We have just put every project on hold because we don’t know what the sanctions will mean,” the head of an unnamed advocacy group told the AP.
Another reportedly told the news agency that they were planning to move money out of US-based bank accounts as a precaution.
The ICC has since responded to the controversial decision, stating that it “condemns” the move.
“The Court stands firmly by its personnel and pledges to continue providing justice and hope to millions of innocent victims of atrocities across the world,” the Hague-based court said in a statement.
“We call on our 125 States Parties, civil society, and all nations of the world to stand united for justice and fundamental human rights.”
The court’s judges previously underlined that there are “reasonable grounds” to suggest the roles of Israeli officials and Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif – said to be the mastermind behind the 7 October attack and recently confirmed by Hamas to have been killed – bear “criminal responsibility for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity”.
