Trump administration readies sweeping sanctions against ICC, reports say

Measures targeting the court itself could disrupt payments, IT services and investigations.

The International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, has faced mounting pressure from the United States over its investigations and arrest warrants [File: Mouneb Taim/Anadolu]

The Trump administration is reportedly preparing sweeping sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC) that could disrupt the tribunal’s finances and day-to-day operations.

The US sanctions would prohibit most transactions with the ICC after a grace period of six to seven months, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

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The move would mark a sharp escalation in Washington’s campaign against the Hague-based court by targeting the institution itself rather than individual judges and prosecutors.

The Trump administration plans to announce the sanctions soon, according to the Reuters news agency, quoting two sources familiar with the matter.

The Journal, citing anonymous officials, said a decision could be finalised during this week’s United Nations General Assembly gathering in New York or soon afterwards.

If imposed, the measures would generally bar US citizens and companies from providing the ICC with money, goods or services without a licence from the US Treasury.

Banks and other companies often take an especially cautious approach to US sanctions because they rely on access to the American financial system.

The ICC president and registrar have previously warned that sanctions on the organisation as a whole could interfere with its ability to buy information technology and insurance services, hire investigators and make routine payments, including salaries for American employees.

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.

Washington has already sanctioned more than a dozen ICC judges and prosecutors under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in February 2025.

In August, it added the court’s President Tomoko Akane and senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye to the list, with restrictions on them taking effect on September 17.

The United States has never joined the court.

The Trump administration says the court has exceeded its authority by pursuing officials from countries that are not ICC members.

Relations deteriorated sharply after the court issued arrest warrants in November 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel, like the US, is not an ICC member and rejects the court’s jurisdiction.

Washington has also objected to an earlier ICC investigation into alleged abuses in Afghanistan involving US personnel.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a campaign in July to further isolate the court and urged other countries to withdraw from it.

Trump’s move adds to growing opposition to the ICC in recent months.

Chad and Venezuela moved in July to withdraw from the court, following Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

Four US-based rights groups sued the Trump administration in August, arguing that existing sanctions obstruct their legal and human rights work.

针对法院本身的措施可能会扰乱支付、IT 服务和调查。

位于荷兰海牙的国际刑事法院因其调查和逮捕令而面临来自美国的越来越大的压力。[图片：Mouneb Taim/Anadolu]

据报道，特朗普政府正准备对国际刑事法院（ICC）实施全面制裁，这可能会扰乱该法庭的财政和日常运作。

据《华尔街日报》周日报道，美国的制裁措施将在六到七个月的宽限期后禁止与国际商会进行大多数交易。

联合国称美国可能在伊朗犯下战争罪行（共两份清单，此为第1份）：这意味着什么

杜特尔特首次亲自到国际刑事法院就“禁毒战争”杀戮事件作证（共2条，此为第2条）

此举标志着华盛顿针对位于海牙的国际刑事法院的行动急剧升级，其目标不再是个别法官和检察官，而是该法院本身。

据路透社援引两位知情人士的消息称，特朗普政府计划很快宣布制裁措施。

《华尔街日报》援引匿名官员的话称，一项决定可能会在本周于纽约举行的联合国大会期间或之后不久最终确定。

如果这些措施得以实施，通常会禁止美国公民和公司在没有获得美国财政部许可的情况下向国际刑事法院提供资金、货物或服务。

银行和其他公司往往对美国的制裁采取格外谨慎的态度，因为它们依赖于进入美国金融体系。

国际刑事法院院长和注册官此前曾警告说，对该组织整体实施制裁可能会影响其购买信息技术和保险服务、雇用调查人员以及支付日常款项（包括美国员工的工资）的能力。

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。

根据唐纳德·特朗普总统于 2025 年 2 月签署的行政命令，华盛顿已经对十几名国际刑事法院法官和检察官进行了制裁。

8 月，该机构将法院院长赤根智子和资深审判律师阿卜杜拉耶·塞耶列入名单，对他们的限制于 9 月 17 日生效。

美国从未加入该法院。

特朗普政府表示，国际刑事法院追究非成员国官员的责任，已经超越了其权限。

2024 年 11 月，法院对以色列总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡和前国防部长约阿夫·加兰特发出逮捕令，指控他们在加沙犯有战争罪和反人类罪，此后两国关系急剧恶化。

以色列和美国一样，都不是国际刑事法院成员国，并且拒绝接受该法院的管辖权。

华盛顿方面也曾反对国际刑事法院此前对美国人员在阿富汗涉嫌虐待行为的调查。

美国国务卿马可·卢比奥在7月宣布发起一项运动，进一步孤立该法院，并敦促其他国家退出该法院。

特朗普此举加剧了近几个月来人们对国际刑事法院日益增长的反对情绪。

继布基纳法索、马里和尼日尔之后，乍得和委内瑞拉于7月退出了该法院。

8 月，四家总部位于美国的维权组织起诉特朗普政府，称现有的制裁阻碍了他们的法律和人权工作。