October 9, 2026 – In response to the Trump administration’s imposition of sanctions on the International Criminal Court as an institution, Center for International Policy President & CEO Nancy Okail issued the following statement:
“With today’s sanctions on the International Criminal Court itself, Donald Trump has moved from targeting the court’s officials to trying to strangle the institution outright. By cutting the court off from the banks, vendors and service providers it depends on, the administration is openly trying, in Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s own words, to cripple its ability to operate.
“This is the broadest attack yet on the one permanent tribunal able to prosecute war crimes, genocide and other crimes against humanity. It continues Trump’s efforts to make America a pariah state, and it gives comfort to brutal dictators, aggressors and human rights abusers around the world.
“It is no coincidence that this move comes just hours after Navi Pillay, a former ICC judge and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Her award is a powerful affirmation of the value of multilateral institutions and the rule of law. It is also a well-deserved recognition of a career spent defending human rights and pursuing the prosecution of war crimes. Pillay has been relentlessly defamed by defenders of Israel’s conduct for leading the UN Commission of Inquiry that rightly found that genocide was being committed in Gaza.
“The Nobel Committee’s decision brings renewed attention to that finding and sends a strong message that it, and the people affected by it, cannot be pushed aside by political pressure. The Trump administration answered the same day with more pressure. As with its previous sanctions, the objective of attacking the court is to ensure absolute impunity for those who seek to act unrestrained by any law.
“This US assault on international law should be met with a strong response. States that are party to the Rome Statute should reaffirm and carry out their obligations to the court, including the consistent enforcement of its warrants and orders. The European Union, every one of whose members is a party to the court, should swiftly invoke the EU Blocking Statute to prohibit European companies and banks from complying with these sanctions and to shield the court, its staff and those who cooperate with it. Statements of support for the court are not enough.
“US Members of Congress should unequivocally condemn these actions by Trump, and commit to undo them legislatively, along with every previous round of sanctions on ICC officials. They should treat this attack on a judicial body and its officers just as they treat Trump’s efforts to destroy domestic institutions of justice.
“Defending the legitimacy of the ICC is an inseparable part of the fight to protect the rule of law in the United States and around the world. Those who fail to firmly oppose this attack –or worse, support it – are only helping Trump and his authoritarian friends make the world less safe.”
