The Hague: The International Criminal Court on Friday called on its member states to stand up against sanctions imposed by US President Donald Trump, saying that the move was an attempt to “harm its independent and impartial judicial work”.
And the embattled court got plenty of support from traditional US allies in Europe who stood up against the Trump measure.
“Sanctioning the ICC threatens the court’s independence and undermines the international criminal justice system as a whole,” said European Council President António Costa, who heads the summits of the European Union’s 27 leaders. It was the toughest direct criticism to a decision by Trump by a top EU official since he took office again last month.
The White House issued the executive order on Thursday in response to what it called “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel”.
The US and Israel aren’t members of the court and don’t recognise it’s authority, and Trump’s order was a response to the arrest warrant that the ICC issued last year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians, including children, have been killed during the Israeli military’s response to Hamas’ attack on southern Israel that killed around 1,200 people in October 2023. The figure of Palestinians killed is provided by Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between fighters and civilians.
The Hague-based court said that it “condemns” the move by the Trump administration.
“The Court stands firmly by its personnel and pledges to continue providing justice and hope to millions of innocent victims of atrocities across the world,” the court said in a statement.
“We call on our 125 States Parties, civil society and all nations of the world to stand united for justice and fundamental human rights,” it said.
And many did.
Germany will await the concrete effects of the sanctions, but clearly showed where its sympathy lies.
“The ICC is one of the greatest accomplishments of international criminal law,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Kathrin Deschauer said. “We as Germany support the ICC and will continue to do so.”
She noted that countries that are parties to the ICC rallied behind the court when Trump took similar measures in his first term, and “we as Europeans and Germany will remain one of the biggest supporters of the ICC.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the court “must be able to freely pursue the fight against global impunity. Europe will always stand for justice and the respect of international law.”
The order said that the US would impose “tangible and significant consequences” on those responsible for the ICC’s “transgressions.” Actions may include blocking property and assets and not allowing ICC officials, employees and relatives to enter the United States.
The US Treasury and State Department will determine which people and organisations will be sanctioned.
The ICC caught the wrath of the United States in November, when a pretrial panel of judges issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu, his former defence minister and Hamas’ military chief, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with the war in Gaza.
The warrants said that there was reason to believe that Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant used “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid and have intentionally targeted civilians in Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza — charges Israeli officials deny.
On Friday, human rights groups have criticised the decision.
“US sanctions against ICC officials would be a gift to those around the globe responsible for mass atrocities. Sanctions are for human rights violators, not those working to hold rights abusers to account,” Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.
“Trump’s executive order borrows a page out of Russia’s playbook, which has sought to obstruct the court’s work through arrest warrants against its judges and prosecutor,” Evenson said.
Court officials had been preparing for sanctions for months. In January, the court gave staff a three-month advance on their salaries, two court insiders told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorised to speak to media.
At least two senior staff members at the court have resigned since Trump was elected in an effort to avoid sanctions.
The Netherlands, which hosts the court, has also condemned Trump’s order. “The Netherlands regrets the executive order imposing sanctions on the ICC. The court’s work is essential in the fight against impunity,” Foreign Affairs Minister Caspar Veldkamp said in a statement.
People in the Dutch government say the Netherlands has been trying to assist the court in shielding itself from the fallout.
In an increasingly polarised Western world, Hungary stood side by side with Trump.
“The ICC has recently turned itself into a biased political tool and has discredited the entire international court system,” Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said. “Its decisions have also only contributed to exacerbating insecurity in already difficult parts of the world.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said that “the ICC’s actions are immoral and have no legal basis.”
It is the second time that Trump has gone after the court. During his previous term in office, he imposed sanctions on former prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and one of her deputies over her investigation into crimes committed in Afghanistan. US President Joe Biden lifted the sanctions when he took office in 2021.
