The US has sanctioned senior ICC figures as its campaign against the court intensifies
The United States has announced new sanctions against two senior figures at the International Criminal Court, marking another major escalation in the Trump administration’s battle with the global tribunal.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the sanctions target ICC president Tomoko Akane of Japan and senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye of Senegal.
Rubio accused them of taking part in the court’s efforts to prosecute officials whose governments have not accepted ICC jurisdiction. He described the court as corrupt, politicised and acting beyond its mandate.
The ICC sanctions row has now become one of the sharpest clashes between Washington and the international legal system since Donald Trump returned to office.
The ICC said it stands behind its staff and warned that measures targeting judges, prosecutors and court officials undermine the rule of law. It said threats against judicial actors place the international legal order itself at risk.
The sanctions are expected to include asset freezes, travel bans and restrictions linked to services from US companies. Such measures can make even basic financial transactions difficult, because banks with US links or dollar-based operations are expected to comply.
The Trump administration has already sanctioned at least 11 ICC officials, including judges and the court’s chief prosecutor.
Those earlier measures were connected to ICC investigations involving US personnel in Afghanistan and warrants issued against senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Netanyahu has denied allegations of war crimes and has accused the court of being driven by antisemitism. The US and Israel are not members of the ICC.
However, Palestine became a member of the court in 2015, allowing the ICC to examine alleged crimes committed on Palestinian territory.
Trump’s hostility towards the court is not new. During his first term, he called the ICC a threat and told the UN General Assembly that it had no jurisdiction, legitimacy or authority over the United States.
Since returning to office, his administration has taken a more aggressive position. Rubio has called on the ICC’s 125 member countries to withdraw from the court and has spoken openly about dismantling it “brick by brick”.
A US official has said Washington would be watching which countries responded to that call.
The ICC was established in 2002 to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Its jurisdiction applies in member states or in cases referred by the UN Security Council.
Supporters say the court is an essential tool for holding powerful figures accountable when national systems fail to deliver justice.
Critics in Washington argue that the court threatens state sovereignty by pursuing cases involving countries that have not accepted its authority.
Human rights organisations have strongly criticised the US campaign. They argue that the sanctions are designed to intimidate the court and weaken efforts to investigate serious international crimes.
Four leading US human rights groups have sued the Trump administration over the campaign, calling it unconstitutional. They say the sanctions stop them from working with the ICC on cases involving genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Three ICC judges have also taken legal action in a New York federal court over sanctions imposed on them last year. They argued that the measures were unlawful and aimed at punishing and pressuring them outside normal legal channels.
The White House has previously said Trump acted lawfully under emergency economic powers.
For now, the confrontation shows no sign of easing. The Trump administration says it is defending American sovereignty and protecting US and Israeli officials from an illegitimate court.
The ICC and its supporters say Washington is attacking judicial independence and weakening the global system designed to hold war criminals to account.