By LONDON — Dozens of countries, including Germany, South Africa and Mexico, said Friday that President Donald Trump’s decision to sanction the International Criminal Court would “erode the international rule of law.”
The joint statement by 79 countries came hours after Trump signed an executive order slapping financial sanctions and visa restrictions against ICC staff and their family members, alleging the court has improperly targeted the United States and Israel.
“Such measures increase the risk of impunity for the most serious crimes and threaten to erode the international rule of law, which is crucial for promoting global order and security,” the 79 countries, including Canada and France, said in a statement publicly released by numerous governments.
The statement added that “sanctions could jeopardize the confidentiality of sensitive information and the safety of those involved—including victims, witnesses, and court officials, many of whom are our nationals.”
The International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands.Alex Gottschalk / DeFodi Images via Getty Images
The signatories said the sanctions may result in the ICC having to close its field offices.
“We regret any attempts to undermine the court’s independence, integrity and impartiality,” they said, crediting the “ICC’s indispensable role in ending impunity, promoting the rule of law, and fostering lasting respect for international law and human rights.”
The United States and Israel are among a minority of around 40 countries that never signed up to the ICC, an international court based in the Netherlands that seeks to hold to account the perpetrators of war crimes, like genocide.
But after some historic cooperation between Washington and the ICC, Trump’s executive order Thursday accused the world body of “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel.”
In November, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as for Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammad Deif and Ismail Haniyeh.
The warrants relate to events on and since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led terrorist attacks killed 1,200 people and saw around 250 others taken hostage, according to Israeli officials. Since, then Israel has launched a military offensive that has killed more than 47,500 people in the Gaza Strip, according to local health officials.
The court said there was reason to believe Netanyahu and Gallant used “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid and intentionally targeting civilians in Israel’s campaign in Gaza. Israel, which also does not recognize the ICC, dismissed those charges as false and antisemitic.
The court’s “recent actions against Israel and the United States set a dangerous precedent, directly endangering current and former United States personnel, including active service members of the Armed Forces, by exposing them to harassment, abuse, and possible arrest,” the executive order said.
Its signing appeared timed to coincide with Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, in which Trump made the surprise announcement that he wanted the U.S. to take control of the Gaza Strip, shocking and outraging many officials, activists and experts around the world.
Washington’s historical relationship with the ICC is a complex one.
The administration of President Bill Clinton was involved in negotiating the 1998 Rome Statute on which the ICC is based. But the U.S. opposed the final draft because of fears it “could subject U.S. soldiers and officials to politicized prosecutions,” according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
Clinton later signed the statute but asked it not be sent to the Senate for ratification until these concerns were addressed.
