The United States has imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court, the Trump administration announced on Friday, just hours after former ICC judge Navi Pillay was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, putting Washington on a diplomatic collision course with its European allies.
"President Trump will never allow the International Criminal Court to prosecute Americans," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. "That is why, today, the United States is sanctioning the International Criminal Court. We will ban transactions with this rogue court, cutting off their resources and crippling its ability to operate."
A sharp escalation
The administration had previously imposed sanctions on the court's prosecutors and judges, but Friday's move goes much further by targeting the institution itself, potentially punishing companies that provide services to the court. US sanctions typically bar American firms from any work with a sanctioned organisation, forcing banks to shut accounts, insurers to end coverage and software companies to halt cooperation.
Washington has long been hostile to the court over arrest warrants issued for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and over a past investigation into the actions of US soldiers in Afghanistan, which the ICC has since closed.
The court, founded in 2002 to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, counts 125 countries as member states, including all EU countries and all NATO members apart from the United States and Turkey. It is based in the Netherlands, and officials there have been preparing for months, shifting office computers from Microsoft software to open-source alternatives and making new arrangements for banking and health insurance. The court's registrar earlier this week called on the EU to be ready to use a "blocking mechanism" shielding European countries from the sanctions' extraterritorial effects.
Timing raises the stakes
The sanctions landed hours after Pillay, the South African jurist who served on the ICC's Appeals Chamber from 2003 to 2008, won the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in international criminal justice. In its citation, the prize committee said it had sought to "issue a reminder" at a time when "judges and institutions of international law are under political attack".
Rubio said the sanctions were structured to give the court and its member states a chance to address US concerns, and warned: "Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC. We expect our allies, many of whom are part of the ICC and that rely on American servicemembers for their defense, to rein in the court."
Sources:
- US imposes sanctions on International Criminal Court, hours after former judge wins Nobel (Reuters)
"President Trump will never allow the International Criminal Court to prosecute Americans," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. "That is why, today, the United States is sanctioning the International Criminal Court. We will ban transactions with this rogue court, cutting off their resources and crippling its ability to operate."
A sharp escalation
The administration had previously imposed sanctions on the court's prosecutors and judges, but Friday's move goes much further by targeting the institution itself, potentially punishing companies that provide services to the court. US sanctions typically bar American firms from any work with a sanctioned organisation, forcing banks to shut accounts, insurers to end coverage and software companies to halt cooperation.
Washington has long been hostile to the court over arrest warrants issued for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and over a past investigation into the actions of US soldiers in Afghanistan, which the ICC has since closed.
The court, founded in 2002 to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, counts 125 countries as member states, including all EU countries and all NATO members apart from the United States and Turkey. It is based in the Netherlands, and officials there have been preparing for months, shifting office computers from Microsoft software to open-source alternatives and making new arrangements for banking and health insurance. The court's registrar earlier this week called on the EU to be ready to use a "blocking mechanism" shielding European countries from the sanctions' extraterritorial effects.
Timing raises the stakes
The sanctions landed hours after Pillay, the South African jurist who served on the ICC's Appeals Chamber from 2003 to 2008, won the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in international criminal justice. In its citation, the prize committee said it had sought to "issue a reminder" at a time when "judges and institutions of international law are under political attack".
Rubio said the sanctions were structured to give the court and its member states a chance to address US concerns, and warned: "Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC. We expect our allies, many of whom are part of the ICC and that rely on American servicemembers for their defense, to rein in the court."
Sources:
- US imposes sanctions on International Criminal Court, hours after former judge wins Nobel (Reuters)
