GENEVA (9 October 2026) – The US Government’s
imposition of sanctions on the International Criminal Court
(ICC) as an institution is a brash attempt to dismantle the
international legal system created by States, jurists, human
rights advocates and other stakeholders to hold perpetrators
of the gravest crimes to account, UN experts* warned today,
calling on States committed to the rule of law to stand
together in defence of the Court and its
independence.
“Sanctioning the institution entrusted
with delivering justice for the gravest international crimes
is an assault on the foundations of international
accountability and rule of law,” the experts said. “No
State should place itself beyond the reach of the law by
intimidating the court established to enforce it and
attempting to dismantle it.”
“This attack on the
ICC directly injures the victims of atrocities and their
advocates, who rely on the ICC for justice, accountability
and reparation,” the experts said.
The United States
today imposed sanctions on the ICC as an entity. The US
Government had already sanctioned more than 10 current or
former ICC judges and personnel, and one UN Special
Rapporteur, under US Executive Order 14203 of
2025.
“These sanctions are an egregious assault by
one country against the international administration of
justice and the international criminal accountability gains
against impunity for the gravest crimes,” the experts
said. “The sanctions are aimed at bringing the ICC to its
knees; and ensuring US allies are not held accountable for
genocide, war crimes and crimes against
humanity.”
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“If ever there was a moment for States
committed to an international rules-based order, to
accountability for atrocity crimes, to the defence of human
rights, and to the principle that no one is above the law,
to stand up and be counted, it is now,” they
warned.
“The international criminal justice system
forged in the fires of Nuremberg and Tokyo, and the
International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia
and for Rwanda, stands on a razor’s edge. Sanctioning the
institutions at the heart of international justice risks
dismantling, piece by piece, the system States built to
ensure that the gravest crimes do not go
unanswered.”
“As a global community, we cannot let
one State launch unilateral attacks against the Court,”
the experts said. “The ICC was built by humanity, created
through the coordinated actions of states across the world,
and its essential work for victims of the most serious
crimes must continue.”
The experts called on the
European Union to immediately activate the EU Blocking
Statute, to prevent its operators – including banks and
service providers – from complying with third country
sanctions that violate international law. Other States with
similar statutes should activate them as well to protect the
Court, its personnel, victims, and those engaging with the
ICC.
The experts also reiterated calls to Member
States to ratify and use the Agreement on Privileges and
Immunities of the ICC to mitigate the effects of the
sanctions. The experts urged Member States whose nationals
work at the ICC—the court employs citizens from about 100
countries—to take concrete steps to ensure nationals do
not bear the brunt of the sanctions alone. They also
encouraged States to ensure protection for civil society
organisations and human rights defenders who support and
cooperate with the Court.
“It is time for States to
stand together in defence of this Court and the
international justice system it embodies,” they said.
“Silence and inaction will only embolden further attacks.
States must act collectively now to protect this
Court.”
The experts are in contact with the
Government of the United States of America with their
concerns.
Note:
*The
experts:
- Margaret
Satterthwaite, Special
Rapporteur on the independence of judges and
lawyers - Grażyna Baranowska
(Chair-Rapporteur), Ana Lorena Delgadillo Pérez
(Vice-Chair), Aua Baldé, Gabriella Citroni
and Mohamed Al Obaidi, Working
Group on Enforced or Involuntary
Disappearances - Nils
Muižnieks, Special
Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in
Belarus - Mai
Sato, Special
Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic
Republic of Iran - Surya
Deva, Special
Rapporteur on the right to
development - Elena Carolina Díaz
Galán, Special
Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human
rights - Ben Saul,
Special
Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights
and fundamental freedoms while countering
terrorism - Mohamed Abdelsalam
Babiker
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in
Eritrea - Elisa Morgera,
Special Rapporteur on Climate
Change - Claudia Flores (Chair),
Ivana Krstić (Vice-Chair), Dorothy Estrad- Tanck, Haina Lu,
and Laura Nyirinkindi,Working
Group on discrimination against women and
girls - Ai Kihara-Hunt,
Special
Rapporteur on the sale, sexual exploitation and sexual abuse
of children - Ana Brian
Nougrères, Special
Rapporteur on the right to
privacy - George
Katrougalos, Independent
expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable
international order - Heba
Hagrass, Special
Rapporteur on the rights of persons with
disabilities - Bernard
Duhaime, Special
Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation
and guarantees of
non-recurrence - Paula
Gaviria, Special
Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced
persons - Morris
Tidball-Binz, Special
Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary
executions - Bethanie Margaret
Carney Almroth, Special
Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the
environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous
substances and wastes - Reem
Alsalem Special
Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes
and consequences - Isabelle
Mamadou (Chair), Barbara Reynolds and John Phillip
Binondo, Working
Group of Experts on People of African
Descent - Katarina
Schwarz, Special
Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery and trafficking
in persons - Robert McCorquodale
(Chairperson), Ms. Fernanda Hopenhaym (Vice-Chairperson),
Ms. Lyra Jakulevičienė, Ms. Pichamon Yeophantong, and Mr.
Damilola Olawuyi, Working
Group on Business and Human
Rights - Pau Pérez Sales,
Special
Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment - Zaina
Jallad, Special
Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive
measures on the enjoyment of human
rights - Astrid Puentes Riaño,
Special
Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and
sustainable environment - Gina
Romero,
Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful
assembly and of
association - Cecilia M Bailliet,
Independent
Expert on human rights and international
solidarity - Francesca Albanese,
Special
Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the
Palestinian territories occupied since
1967 - Fortuné Gaetan Zongo,
Special Rapporteur on
Burundi
