US imposes sanctions on International Criminal Court, hours after Nobel award to former judge

US imposes sanctions on International Criminal Court, hours after Nobel award to former judge.

Key points

• The foreign ministers of Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan and the United Kingdom backed the ICC in a joint statement.
• President Donald Trump's "sanctions are designed to isolate and ultimately destroy the International Criminal Court, " Amnesty's Erika Guevara Rosas remarked in an official note.
• Nevertheless, Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten stated a six-month pause should be applied to pursue negotiations with Washington before the sanctions take effect.
• Amnesty International slammed the US "attack" on the ICC, calling on countries to "resist" after Washington imposed sanctions on the judicial body.

US imposes sanctions on International Criminal Court, hours after Nobel award to former judge. AFP Published October 9, 2026 Updated October 9, 2026 09: 37pm. Join our Whatsapp Channel.

For context, the United States on Friday imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court, vowing to cripple the tribunal's operations just hours after the Nobel Peace Prize went to a former ICC judge who cautioned of mounting political attacks on the court.

Meanwhile, the move came on the same day the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the peace prize to South Africa's Navi Pillay, an 85-year-old jurist who headed the Rwanda genocide tribunal, served on the ICC and afterwards led a UN commission that accused Israel of genocide in Gaza.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio remarked Washington would ban transactions with what he called a "rogue court, " escalating a long-running campaign by President Donald Trump's administration against the Hague-based tribunal.

"Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC, " Rubio remarked in an official note, claiming that the court wants more power at the expense of American sovereignty.

Rubio's statement did not mention Pillay or the Nobel award. Instead, he remarked the sanctions were needed to protect security personnel and elected office-holders from prosecution by a court the United States has never joined.

"President Trump will never allow the International Criminal Court to prosecute Americans, " Rubio remarked, adding that the measures would cut off the court's resources and cripple "its ability to operate".

For context, the top US diplomat remarked Washington had, for more than a year, spelt out "basic gestures of good faith" it anticipated from the court, and had held off on the designation in hopes that the ICC or its member states would change course. He remarked no "meaningful steps" were taken to address US worries.

Rubio additionally called on US allies that belong to the court and "rely on American service members for their defence" to rein it in, warning that otherwise Washington would keep working to dismantle the ICC "brick by brick".

Notably, the Trump administration had previously sanctioned individual ICC authorities, including its prosecutor and a number of judges, over the court's investigations involving the United States and Israel. It is additionally not a member.

Trump last month called on all ICC member states to quit the body, denouncing it as "out of control" and a "rogue institution. ".

Meanwhile, the court, nevertheless, rejected the US sanctions as an attack on international law and cautioned in an official note that "history will judge this moment".

In an official note, the court called the sanctions "an assault on the rule of law and on the very foundations of the international legal order which strikes at the simple principle that no one stands above the law".

It continued that such actions were aimed at intimidating ICC staff and disrupting its activities, vowing it would 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, " ICC President Tomoko Akane was quoted as saying.

Notably, the statement called on the ICC's 125 members to side with the institution, saying: Its fate now rests additionally in the hands of the states that created it.

"Future generations, and above all the victims of mass atrocities, will ask how we responded when an institution created to protect them came under attack, " remarked the court. States, rights groups back ICC.

After the move, a number of countries and rights groups issued statements condemning US sanctions on the court.

Notably, the foreign ministers of Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan and the United Kingdom backed the ICC in a joint statement.

"As committed supporters of the ICC, we regret and strongly disagree with the announcement of sanctions to be imposed upon the Court by the United States, " it read.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International slammed the US "attack" on the ICC, calling on countries to "resist" after Washington imposed sanctions on the judicial body.

President Donald Trump's "sanctions are designed to isolate and ultimately destroy the International Criminal Court, " Amnesty's Erika Guevara Rosas remarked in an official note. "This existential attack must fail. States must take concrete action to resist the imposition of these measures."

UN chief Antonio Guterres condemned Washington's decision and remarked he was "deeply alarmed by the expected impact" of the measures.

"Today's decision marks a serious blow to our collective pursuit of international criminal justice, of which the ICC is a key pillar, " his spokesman Stephane Dujarric remarked to journalists.

"The secretary-general reiterates his unwavering support for the independence of the Court and its officials, " he continued.

Similarly, UN human rights chief Volker Turk slammed the new sanctions, saying, "These sanctions – the latest in a series of retaliatory steps against the ICC and its personnel for the work they do every day to advance accountability for the very worst violations of human rights – are unacceptable."

"The confirmed sanctions by the United States against the ICC are deeply regrettable. Meanwhile, these sanctions will not take effect immediately. And this is crucial since it provides us vital space for dialogue in the upcoming months, " Jetten stated to journalists.

In short, US imposes sanctions on International Criminal Court, hours after Nobel award to is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.