Washington : The Trump-led US administration has imposed sanctions on four senior members of the International Criminal Court (ICC), including two judges and two prosecutors, freezing their US-based assets and excluding them from American financial systems.
This action comes amid the ICC’s recent decision to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri, concerning alleged war crimes during the Gaza conflict. Previously, the ICC had also opened probes into potential offenses by US military personnel in Afghanistan.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the ICC, describing it as an institution that violates national sovereignty and serves as a political tool aimed at the US and Israel.
The sanctioned officials include France’s Judge Nicolas Young, Fiji’s Judge Nazhat Shameem Khan, Senegal’s Deputy Prosecutor Mamadou Mandiaye Niang, and Canada’s Judge Kimberly Prost. Notably, Nicolas Young led the judicial panel that authorized the warrants against Netanyahu, and Kimberly Prost was part of the appeals chamber that approved investigations into US forces’ alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.
This is the second round of punitive measures by the Trump administration targeting the ICC, following earlier sanctions on the court’s lead prosecutor and an aide in 2020.
The ICC has strongly condemned the sanctions, calling them an assault on the court’s autonomy. Legal analysts warn this could severely impact the ICC’s ability to pursue justice in critical cases, including conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, and Afghanistan.
Established in 2002, the ICC is tasked with prosecuting genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity worldwide. Despite broad membership, key nations such as the US, Israel, Russia, and China do not recognize its authority.
