US sanctions International Criminal Court chief Tomoko Akane of Japan
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced US sanctions on the president and a senior trial lawyer of the International Criminal Court, preventing the two officials from entering the US and using the US financial system.
Japanese Judge Tomoko Akane, President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), delivers a speech during a press conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Jun 14, 2024. (Photo: AFP/Kazuhiro Nogi)
WASHINGTON: The United States on Tuesday (Aug 18) imposed sanctions against International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane of Japan and another senior official as part of Washington's campaign against what it calls a "corrupt and fatally politicised" body.
Washington also slapped sanctions on ICC Senior Trial Lawyer Abdoulaye Seye of Senegal in the Trump administration's latest salvo against The Hague-based court.
"These individuals have directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute officials whose government has not consented to ICC jurisdiction," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement, without providing examples.
The ICC replied Tuesday, saying the US sanctions "undermine the rule of law".
"When judicial actors are threatened for applying the law, it is the international legal order itself that is placed at risk," the court said in a statement.
Established in 2002, the ICC prosecutes individuals accused of the gravest atrocities and acts as a last resort when countries do not have adequate legal systems to ensure accountability.
The United States, which is not a party to the international treaty that established the ICC, has already imposed sanctions against several of the court's officials.
The measures bar them from entering the United States and from carrying out transactions in the US financial system.
It is largely a response to ICC investigations targeting Israel, a US ally. In 2024, the court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the war in Gaza.
In an X post Tuesday evening, Netanyahu applauded the US sanctions and called the ICC "a kangaroo court that cloaks its abuse of power in the language of international law".
The Netherlands, where the ICC is based at the Hague, "disapproves of the latest sanctions against officials and staff of the ICC", Dutch foreign minister Tom Berendsen wrote in an X post.
"International courts and tribunals must be able to freely carry out their mandates," he added.
VICTIMS OF WAR CRIMES
Last month, Washington launched a major diplomatic offensive against the ICC, accusing it of "threatening" Americans and calling on partners to withdraw from the body - a move already announced by Chad and Venezuela, which has aligned with the United States since the capture and ouster of leader Nicolas Maduro.
The ICC expressed concern over those withdrawals, asserting that such countries risked undermining the collective pursuit of justice.
The United States signed the Rome Statute establishing the ICC but never ratified the treaty. Israel, Russia and China are not ICC members either.
"The Trump Administration has been clear: the International Criminal Court is a corrupt and fatally politicised supranational court that has maliciously abused its authority and exceeded its mandate. We will not tolerate its assault on state sovereignty," Rubio's statement said.
Last week, four human rights groups sued US President Donald Trump in a New York court over his sanctions targeting the ICC, saying the measures block victims of war crimes from pursuing justice.
One of the plaintiff groups, Human Rights Watch (HRW), issued a statement Tuesday decrying the new sanctions.
The sanctions are "just the latest example of the Trump administration's utter contempt for international law and a naked attempt to shield American and Israeli officials implicated in serious crimes from justice", HRW's Middle East and North Africa director Balkees Jarrah said in a statement.
RUSSIAN WARRANTS
In 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine, prompting Moscow to issue its own arrest warrants for senior court officials.
These included Akane, 70, an ICC judge since 2018 who was elected as the court's president in March 2024.
"Even if one judge were to die, we are easily replaceable, so there is really no value in targeting us," she said after the Russian announcement.
The Japanese government, the biggest funder of the ICC and a close ally of the United States, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.
On Jul 14, chief government spokesman Minoru Kihara told reporters that Japan was watching US announcements about the ICC "with concern".
"Japan places great importance on eradicating and preventing serious criminal acts, as well as on fully upholding the rule of law. In that context, we have consistently supported the ICC as a permanent international criminal tribunal," Kihara had said.
