‘Serious blow’: Guterres condemns new US sanctions on International Criminal Court

The court hit back forcefully, calling the step unprecedented, following sanction measures by the US already in place against 13 judges and prosecutors. 

Attack on ‘international legal order’

The ICC described the measure as “an assault on the rule of law and on the very foundations of the international legal order”.

The designation, the court said, is aimed at disrupting its operations and “intimidating those who work for or cooperate with the court”. But, it will not be deterred.

“The court will continue to fully discharge its mandate, with independence and impartiality, acting only on the basis of the law and the evidence for the sake of the countless victims of grave crimes,” said ICC President Tomoko Akane.

Read our explainer on the ICC here

Stand up and be counted

Yet, the court acknowledged that it cannot stand alone.

“Its fate now rests also in the hands of the States that created it,” the statement said, adding that the Rome Statute’s promise “is only as strong as the resolve of those who made it”.

“No one should be punished for serving the cause of justice. History will judge this moment,” it concluded.

Rubio: ‘We will end the ICC’

Announcing the sanctions, Mr. Rubio said the US would “ban transactions with this rogue court, cutting off their resources and crippling its ability to operate”.

“America never joined the court. We don’t need it. And we don’t want it,” he added.

Mr. Rubio said the door to diplomacy remained open, but he issued a stark warning. “Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC,” he said, adding that Washington expected allies to “rein in the court”.

Guterres condemns move

UN Secretary-General António Guterres strongly criticised the US decision, according to his spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric. 

The UN chief condemned the new sanctions against the court “as an institution”.

Mr. Guterres was “deeply alarmed” by the expected impact on the court’s “continued ability to perform its important mandates” and called the sanctions “a serious blow to our collective pursuit of international criminal justice, of which the ICC is a key pillar”.

He reiterated his “unwavering support for the independence of the court and its officials” and called on all States to uphold their commitments under international law.

The UN remains committed to cooperating with the ICC under the relationship agreement approved by the General Assembly on 13 September 2004, the statement added.

Sanctions ‘directly injures’ victims

Independent UN human rights experts warned separately that the US sanctions were a “brash attempt” to dismantle a collective international legal system to hold perpetrators of the gravest crimes to account. 

They called on States committed to the rule of law to stand together in defence of the court and its independence.

“Sanctioning the institution entrusted with delivering justice for the gravest international crimes is an assault on the foundations of international accountability and rule of law,” the experts said. 

“No State should place itself beyond the reach of the law by intimidating the court established to enforce it and attempting to dismantle it.” 

The UN Human Rights Council-appointed experts – who are not employed by the UN and receive no salary for their work – added that the attack “directly injures the victims of atrocities and their advocates, who rely on the ICC for justice, accountability and reparation”.