The United States has imposed sanctions on four International Criminal Court (ICC) judges and prosecutors in a new effort to undermine the court over its actions against Israel.
In a statement on Wednesday, the U.S. State Department said the sanctions were issued “in response to the [court’s] ongoing threat to Americans and Israelis.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the ICC as “a national security threat” and an instrument of “lawfare” against Israel and the United States, echoing the rhetoric used by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Rubio said that the four individuals sanctioned by the State Department had sought to investigate or prosecute individuals from Israel or the US “without the consent of either.”
Among the sanctioned is French judge Nicolas Guillou, who presided over a pre-trial panel that issued arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former war minister Yoav Gallant last November.
The ICC stated that there was “reasonable ground” to believe Netanyahu and Gallant bore criminal responsibility for war crimes, including using starvation as a method of warfare, and perpetrating crimes against humanity in Gaza.
The Israeli regime also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for its genocidal war in Gaza.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has condemned the sanctions imposed by the United States on four of its judges, calling it a “clear attempt” at undermining the court. The ICC is also probing possible war crimes by US forces in Afghanistan.
Canadian judge Kimberly Prost has also been sanctioned for “ruling to authorize the ICC’s investigation into U.S. personnel in Afghanistan”, the U.S. State Department said.
Two deputy prosecutors of the ICC, Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji and Mame Mandiaye Niang of Senegal, have also been sanctioned for supporting arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant.
Both Israel and the U.S. have rejected the authority of the ICC, but the court has maintained that it can issue arrest warrants because the places in which the alleged crimes took place are parties to the court.
On February 13, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury added the Court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, to its “Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List,” barring him from entering the US and freezing his assets in the country.
US sanctions undermine the foundation of international justice, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, adding: “The decision imposes severe impediments on the functioning of the office of the prosecutor.”
