The Trump administration has imposed broad sanctions on the International Criminal Court, escalating its campaign against a tribunal it accuses of pursuing Americans and Israelis unlawfully. Labour International CLP had an emergency resolution warning of this possibility rejected by the Labour Party conference arrangements committee only last week.
Announcing the measures on Friday, US secretary of state Marco Rubio said Washington would block transactions with the court and “cripple its ability to operate against us”. The sanctions freeze any ICC assets under US jurisdiction and give US companies and individuals six months to wind down their business with the institution.
The timing followed the award of the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to South African prosecutor Navi Pillay, a former judge at the ICC and other international courts. But the sanctions plan pre-dated the announcement. President Donald Trump has long opposed the court and has coveted the Nobel prize.
“The United States and the American people are not subject to the jurisdiction of this fake ICC,” Rubio said. He argued that both Republicans and Democrats had reservations about the court, but said Trump alone had acted to confront it. “Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC.”
The court, established to prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity where national authorities do not act, condemned the sanctions as an attempt to obstruct justice and an assault on the international rule of law.
Its president, Tomoko Akane, said the ICC would continue to carry out its mandate independently and impartially, based on law and evidence. She urged member states to support the institution, saying the dispute concerned not only the court but an international order grounded in the rule of law.
Rubio said Washington expected allies, including Nato members in Europe and Japan, to join its actions. If they did not, he said, the US would continue to dismantle the court “piece by piece”.
The Netherlands, the ICC’s host country, rejected the move. Foreign minister Tom Berendsen called the sanctions “a deeply regrettable step” and said the country stood firm in defending the court. He said the six-month wind-down period could leave room for dialogue.