Human rights orgs. sue U.S. gov't over sanctions against ICC in The Hague

Human Rights Watch and three other human rights organizations have sued the United States government in New York over sanctions it imposed on the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague and on several of its employees, including judges and prosecutors, NOS reports.

The organizations demand that the U.S. government reverse the punitive measures because they make it almost impossible for the ICC to function. As a result, the sanctions undermine international legal order and ensure that the war crimes and other crimes against humanity go unpunished.

The sanctions include visa restrictions and financial penalties. They also apply to people assisting the ICC in investigations into American citizens or U.S. allies. According to human rights organizations, this has also severely impacted their work.

Three ICC judges have also filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government over the sanctions against them. They, too, demanded that the sanctions be lifted, calling them “draconian” measures, purely intended to pressure the Court.

U.S. president Donald Trump imposed the sanctions after the ICC issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister. According to the ICC, they committed war crimes in Gaza, including targeted attacks on civilians and using starvation as a weapon of war.

The Trump Administration said the criminal case was unfounded, that the U.S. and Israel are not signatories to the ICC, and that the arrest warrant exposes American soldiers and officials to intimidation, abuse, and possible arrest.

Sources told Reuters that Trump imposed these sanctions partly to head off any future attempts to hold him or his officials liable for American military actions abroad.