Washington: The United States has announced sweeping economic sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), just hours after former ICC judge Navanethem Pillay was named a Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
The Trump administration’s opposition to the Hague-based court has now escalated sharply. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said President Donald Trump would not allow the ICC to investigate American citizens, and described the move as a step to cut off the court’s funding.
According to Rubio’s statement, all financial transactions linked to the ICC will be blocked, with the sanctions aimed at severing funding sources and effectively crippling the institution’s operations.
The decision follows long-running tensions, including ICC arrest warrants issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and the court’s examination of allegations involving US forces in Afghanistan. Earlier measures had targeted select judges and lawyers, but the latest action is directed at the court as a whole.
While the US and countries such as Turkey are not members of the ICC, several European Union and NATO nations are part of it. The sanctions are expected to strain Washington’s ties with European partners.
Pillay, a prominent legal expert of Tamil Nadu origin and former head of the UN Human Rights Commission, was recognised for the Nobel Peace Prize. Speaking in Germany, she warned that efforts to weaken international criminal justice could undo years of human-rights progress and push the world toward a reality where power outweighs law.
