The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on two high-ranking officials at the International Criminal Court (ICC), intensifying its opposition to the court's investigations into alleged actions by U.S. and allied forces. The sanctions target ICC President Tomoko Akane and senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye, freezing any assets they hold within U.S. jurisdictions and restricting their access to the U.S. financial system.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, announcing the sanctions, described the ICC as "corrupt and fatally politicized." He stated that the targeted individuals had "directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute officials whose government has not consented to ICC jurisdiction." Rubio asserted that the ICC "has maliciously abused its authority and exceeded its mandate."
The executive framework for these sanctions was established by an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in February 2025. The administration's position is that the ICC lacks the authority to investigate military personnel, commanders, and political leaders from nations that are not parties to the court, including the United States and Israel.
"Our whole of government campaign to dismantle the threat posed by the ICC to national sovereignty will be sweeping and we expect more countries to join our campaign by ending their funding and participation in this politicized and unaccountable court," Rubio said in a statement. "The ICC’s ability to target American nationals and those of other non-States Parties must end."
The ICC responded to the sanctions, calling them an "undermining of the rule of law" and a "flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution." The court maintains its jurisdiction over nationals of non-member states when alleged crimes occur on the territory of a state that has accepted the court's jurisdiction. Such qualifying crimes, under the Rome Statute, include genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crimes of aggression.
The ICC has initiated investigations into alleged war crimes by U.S. personnel in Afghanistan and similar allegations against Israeli officials in Gaza. These investigations are based on the court's jurisdiction over Afghanistan and Palestine, both of which are member states. In September 2024, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, who was the defense minister at the time, in connection with the conflict in Gaza.
This move by the Trump administration escalates its broader effort to counter the ICC's reach and what it perceives as threats to national sovereignty. The U.S. has not ratified the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the ICC, and has long opposed the court's jurisdiction over its citizens.