European states, Canada, Japan and UN back ICC against US sanctions

Several US allies call to ‘defend’ and ‘protect’ the ICC following Washington’s decision to sanction the judiciary body.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands. [File: Peter Dejong/Pool via AP Photo]

The United States has imposed a new set of sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC), prompting several countries – including US allies – to condemn the move and reiterate their support for the world’s war crimes tribunal.

On Friday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Washington would be banning transactions with the “rogue court, cutting off their resources and crippling its ability to operate”, adding that President Donald Trump would “never allow” the Hague to prosecute Americans.

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The ICC was created in 2002 to prosecute individuals accused of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity when national authorities are unable or unwilling to do so.

The US Treasury Department announced the penalties with a six-month initial grace period and other exemptions that would allow some transactions for telecommunications, software, pension payments and transactions related to detainees.

Rubio said the sanctions would give the court and its member states an opportunity to address US concerns and would be adjusted if they did not meet those demands.

The Trump administration says the court has exceeded its authority by pursuing officials from countries that are not ICC members, such as Israel. The United States and Israel have never joined the court.

In response to the sanctions, the ICC said that the move was an “assault on the rule of law and on the very foundations of the international legal order”. It called on its 125 member states to defend the institution.

“The Court cannot stand alone. Its fate now rests also in the hands of the states that created it,” the ICC said in a statement. “This is not just about defending a single institution, but about safeguarding the international order grounded upon the rule of law. History will judge this moment.”

The Trump administration sanctioned more than a dozen judges and prosecutors before issuing sanctions on the court itself Friday.

Allies ‘regret and disagree’ with US move

Soon after the US announcement, top United Nations officials condemned the move.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “deeply alarmed” by the expected impact of the sanctions on the court as a whole, particularly its ability to carry out its mandate, a statement from his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

“Today’s decision marks a serious blow to our collective pursuit of international criminal justice, of which the ICC is a key pillar,” the statement added.

UN Human Rights chief Volker Turk called for immediate measures to protect the ICC. “These sanctions – the latest in a series of retaliatory steps against the ICC and its personnel for the work they do every day to advance accountability for the very worst violations of human rights – are unacceptable,” he said.

ICC member states that are US allies also expressed dismay at the decision.

Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen, whose country hosts the ICC, said the US’s decision was “deeply regrettable”.

“We will stand firm in defence of the court. At the same time, it’s important to note that the sanctions will not take effect immediately and that service providers can continue to work for the ICC. The six-month period before the sanctions take effect creates scope for dialogue,” he said.

In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada and Japan said they “regret and strongly disagree” with the sanctions.

“If put into effect, these sanctions will have a significant impact on the Court’s work, its dedicated staff and their families … We remain both united in our support for the ICC and committed to engaging in constructive and inclusive dialogue with non-States Parties,” they said.

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot also said Brussels would discuss support for the ICC with European Union foreign affairs colleagues on Monday and at the upcoming European Council.

“We will press for concrete protection. The court’s independence cannot depend on whom it investigates. Europe must act. Belgium is calling for the activation of the EU Blocking Statute to protect the court,” Prevot said.

US aims to ‘ultimately destroy’ ICC

Similarly, organisations and rights groups sounded the alarm over the implications of the US decision.

Philippe Bolopion, executive director of US-based Human Rights Watch, said the Trump administration had made clear its aim to “destroy” the ICC and “shield US and Israeli officials from facing charges before the court”.

“The ICC was created to ensure that no one, no matter how powerful, is above the law. Governments that value human rights and accountability should condemn this outrageous move and take swift action to protect the ICC, its staff, and all those who cooperate with it, starting with the European Union using its laws to mitigate the sanctions’ impact in the region,” he said.

The Executive Director of the Open Society Justice Initiative, James Goldston, said the sanctions were a “calculated attack on the rule of law and the principles of judicial independence and equality that underpin it.”

“This is the latest move in a campaign of coercion intended to destroy the system of international justice,” he said.

Amnesty International called on countries to “resist”. Trump’s “sanctions are designed to isolate and ultimately destroy the International Criminal Court”, Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty’s senior director for research, policy, advocacy and campaigns, said in a statement. “This existential attack must fail. States must take concrete action to resist the imposition of these measures.”

Amid widespread criticism, Israel commended the US move.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the sanctions and praised Trump and Rubio for taking this “critical decision”.

“The ICC is not a court. It is a political body that poses a mortal threat to law-abiding democracies worldwide and to the very idea of national sovereignty,” Netanyahu wrote on X.

In 2024 the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu on war crimes and crimes against humanity charges for the war on Gaza.

在华盛顿决定制裁国际刑事法院后，美国的几个盟友呼吁“捍卫”和“保护”该司法机构。

位于荷兰海牙的国际刑事法院（ICC）。[图片：Peter Dejong/Pool via AP Photo]

美国对国际刑事法院（ICC）实施了一系列新的制裁，这促使包括美国盟友在内的几个国家谴责这一举动，并重申了他们对世界战争罪行法庭的支持。

周五，美国国务卿马可·卢比奥宣布，华盛顿将禁止与这个“流氓法庭”进行交易，切断其资源并削弱其运作能力，并补充说，唐纳德·特朗普总统“绝不会允许”海牙起诉美国人。

美国制裁名单中的第1项：国际刑事法院本身，局势大幅升级

（共3条） 国际商会因美国制裁威胁终止与法国保险公司的合同

列表 3（共 3 条）：加沙种族灭绝三年后，美国对以色列的支持仍在继续

国际刑事法院成立于 2002 年，旨在起诉被控犯有种族灭绝罪、战争罪和反人类罪的个人，而国家当局却无力或不愿这样做。

美国财政部宣布了处罚措施，并给予六个月的初始宽限期和其他豁免，允许进行一些电信、软件、养老金支付和与被拘留者相关的交易。

鲁比奥表示，制裁将给法院及其成员国一个机会来解决美国的关切，如果他们不满足这些要求，制裁措施将会进行调整。

特朗普政府称，国际刑事法院起诉非成员国（例如以色列）的官员，此举超越了其权限。美国和以色列从未加入国际刑事法院。

针对这些制裁，国际刑事法院表示，此举是对“法治和国际法律秩序根基的攻击”。它呼吁其125个成员国捍卫该机构。

国际刑事法院在一份声明中表示：“法院不能孤立存在。它的命运如今也掌握在创建它的各国手中。这不仅关乎捍卫一个机构，更关乎维护以法治为基础的国际秩序。历史将会评判这一刻。”

在周五对最高法院本身实施制裁之前，特朗普政府已经制裁了十几名法官和检察官。

盟国对美国的举动“感到遗憾并表示反对”。

美国宣布这一决定后不久，联合国高级官员便谴责了这一举动。

联合国秘书长安东尼奥·古特雷斯对制裁可能对整个法院产生的影响“深感震惊”，特别是对其履行职责的能力，他的发言人斯特凡·杜加里克在一份声明中表示。

声明还表示：“今天的决定对我们共同追求国际刑事司法造成了严重打击，而国际刑事法院是国际刑事司法的重要支柱。”

联合国人权事务高级专员沃尔克·图尔克呼吁立即采取措施保护国际刑事法院。他说：“这些制裁——这是针对国际刑事法院及其工作人员为追究最严重侵犯人权行为的责任而采取的一系列报复措施中的最新举措——是不可接受的。”

与美国结盟的国际刑事法院成员国也对这一决定表示失望。

荷兰外交大臣汤姆·贝伦森表示，美国的决定“令人深感遗憾”。荷兰是国际刑事法院的所在地。

“我们将坚定捍卫国际刑事法院。同时，需要指出的是，制裁不会立即生效，服务提供商可以继续为国际刑事法院工作。制裁生效前的六个月过渡期为对话创造了空间，”他说道。

英国、丹麦、法国、德国、意大利、荷兰、加拿大和日本的外交部长在一份联合声明中表示，他们“对这些制裁感到遗憾并强烈反对”。

“如果这些制裁措施得以实施，将对国际刑事法院的工作、其敬业的工作人员及其家人产生重大影响……我们仍然团结一致地支持国际刑事法院，并致力于与非缔约国进行建设性和包容性的对话，”他们说。

比利时外交大臣马克西姆·普雷沃特还表示，布鲁塞尔将于周一与欧盟外交事务同僚讨论对国际刑事法院的支持，并在即将召开的欧洲理事会上进行讨论。

“我们将力争获得切实有效的保护。法院的独立性不能取决于它调查的对象。欧洲必须采取行动。比利时呼吁启动欧盟《阻挠规约》以保护法院，”普雷沃特说。

美国的目标是“最终摧毁”国际刑事法院

同样，各组织和人权团体也对美国这一决定的影响发出警告。

美国人权观察组织执行主任菲利普·博洛皮翁表示，特朗普政府已明确表示其目标是“摧毁”国际刑事法院，并“保护美国和以色列官员免于在法庭上受到指控”。

“国际刑事法院的设立是为了确保任何人，无论多么强大，都不能凌驾于法律之上。重视人权和问责制的各国政府应该谴责这一令人愤慨的举动，并迅速采取行动保护国际刑事法院、其工作人员以及所有与其合作的人员，首先是欧盟应该利用其法律来减轻制裁在该地区的影响，”他说道。

开放社会司法倡议执行主任詹姆斯·戈德斯顿表示，这些制裁是“对法治以及支撑法治的司法独立和平等原则的蓄意攻击”。

他说：“这是旨在摧毁国际司法体系的胁迫行动中的最新举措。”

国际特赦组织呼吁各国“抵制”制裁。该组织负责研究、政策、倡导和运动的高级主任埃里卡·格瓦拉·罗萨斯在一份声明中表示，特朗普的“制裁旨在孤立并最终摧毁国际刑事法院”。“这种生死攸关的攻击必须失败。各国必须采取切实行动，抵制这些制裁措施的实施。”

在遭到广泛批评之际，以色列对美国的举动表示赞赏。

以色列总理本杰明·内塔尼亚胡对制裁表示欢迎，并称赞特朗普和卢比奥做出了这一“关键决定”。

“国际刑事法院不是一个法院。它是一个政治机构，对全世界守法的民主国家和国家主权理念构成了致命威胁，”内塔尼亚胡在X上写道。

2024 年，国际刑事法院对内塔尼亚胡发出逮捕令，指控其在加沙战争中犯有战争罪和反人类罪。