US President Donald Trump on Thursday authorized economic and travel sanctions targeting people who work on International Criminal Courtinvestigations of US citizens or US allies such as Israel, repeating action he took during his first term.
The move coincides with a visit to Washington by Israel's Prime Minister Benajmin Netanyahu, who - along with his former defense minister and a leader of Palestinian militant group Hamas - is wanted by the ICC over the war in the Gaza Strip.
It was unclear how quickly the US would announce names of people sanctioned. During the first Trump administration in 2020, Washington imposed sanctions on then-prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and one of her top aides over the ICC's investigation into alleged war crimes by American troops in Afghanistan.
The ICC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The sanctions include freezing any US assets of those designated and barring them and their families from visiting the United States.
The 125-member ICC is a permanent court that can prosecute individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression against the territory of member states or by their nationals. The United States, China, Russia and Israel are not members.
Trump signed the executive order after US Senate Democrats last week blocked a Republican-led effort to pass legislation setting up a sanctions regime targeting the war crimes court.
The court has taken measures to shield staff from possible US sanctions, paying salaries three months in advance, as it braced for financial restrictions that could cripple the war crimes tribunal, sources told Reuters last month.
In December, the court's president, judge Tomoko Akane, warned that sanctions would "rapidly undermine the Court's operations in all situations and cases, and jeopardise its very existence."
Russia has also taken aim at the court. In 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. Russia has banned entry to ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan and placed him and two ICC judges on its wanted list.
EXPLAINER-What is the International Criminal Court?
When was the ICC ste up and why?
The court was established in 2002 to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression when member states are unwilling or unable to do so themselves. It can prosecute crimes committed by nationals of member states or on the territory of member states by other actors. It has 125 member states. The court's budget for 2025 is about 195 million euros ($202 million).
What is the ICC investigating?
The ICC is conducting investigations from the Palestinian territories to Ukraine and African states such as Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya to Venezuela in Latin America and Myanmar and the Philippines in Asia, according to its website. It says there have been 32 cases before the court, with some cases having more than one suspect. ICC judges have issued at least 60 arrest warrants.
How many people has the court convicted?
ICC judges have issued 11 convictions and four acquittals. Twenty-one people have been held in the ICC detention centre in The Hague and have appeared before the court, and 31 people remain at large. Charges have been dropped against seven people due to their deaths.
Of the 11 convictions, only six have been for the court's core crimes of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The others were for crimes such as witness tampering. The six convicted men were all African militia leaders from Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali and Uganda.
Who is on the court's arrest warrant list?
The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, who is accused of being criminally responsible for acts including murder, persecution and using starvation as a weapon of war in the Gaza conflict.
It also issued a warrant for Netanyahu's former defence chief Yoav Gallant and for Hamas leader Ibrahim al-Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif. The warrant for Masri lists charges of killing, rape and hostage-taking during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in Israel that triggered the Gaza war.
The Israeli leader dismissed the decision as anti-Semitic and said the accusations were absurd and false.
Also on the list is Russian President Vladimir Putin, accused of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. In March 2023, after the court issued the warrant, the Kremlin said the move was meaningless. Moscow has repeatedly denied accusations that its forces have committed atrocities during its invasion of Ukraine.
In recent months the ICC prosecutor has also requested arrest warrants for senior Afghan and Myanmar leaders, but those have not been officially approved by judges.
Which countries are not members of the ICC?
Although the court is supported by many United Nations members and the European Union, other countries such as the United States, China and Russia are not members, arguing the ICC could be used for politically motivated prosecutions.
Myanmar is not a member of the court, but in 2018 and 2019 judges ruled the court had jurisdiction over alleged cross-border crimes that partially took place in neighbouring ICC-member Bangladesh, such as deportation and persecution, and said prosecutors could open a formal investigation.
Israel is not a member of the court and does not recognise its jurisdiction, but the Palestinian territories were admitted as an ICC member state in 2015. This, together with a ruling by judges, means the court can look at potential war crimes carried out by Hamas fighters in Israel and by Israelis in the Gaza Strip.
