Unwavering support for the ICC despite Trump sanctions

Dozens of countries expressed their "unwavering support" for the International Criminal Court (ICC) yesterday, a day after United States President Donald Trump approved potentially far-reaching economic and travel sanctions against the court's staff.

“We reaffirm our continued and unwavering support for the independence, impartiality and integrity of the ICC,” said a joint statement from a group of nearly 80 countries. “The court represents a key pillar of the international justice system, ensuring accountability for the most serious international crimes and justice for victims.”

The signatories to the statement come from all parts of the world, but make up only about two-thirds of the total of 125 member states of the permanent court for the prosecution of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and aggression.

Among the countries that supported the statement are France, Germany and the United Kingdom, while among those that did not sign are Australia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Italy.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban made it clear earlier yesterday that he supports Trump's decision, which coincided with a visit to Washington by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu over the war in Gaza, Reuters recalls.

Trump's sanctions target individuals working on ICC investigations against American citizens or US allies, such as Israel.

"It is time for Hungary to reconsider its membership in an international organization that is under US sanctions! New winds are blowing in international politics. We call it the 'Trump tornado,'" Orban wrote on the social network X.

The Czech and Italian governments did not immediately comment on the reasons why they did not sign the declaration, Reuters points out.

The ICC's host country, the Netherlands, expressed regret over the sanctions and stressed that it would continue to support the court's work.

"We don't know the exact impact yet, but it could seriously hinder the work of the court, and even make it impossible in some areas," Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoff told reporters.

"We will do everything in our power to ensure that the court can complete its tasks," he added, noting that he had not yet spoken to Trump about sanctions.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other EU leaders have criticized Trump's decision to impose sanctions on the ICC. "Sanctions are the wrong tool," Scholz said. "They endanger an institution that is supposed to ensure that dictators around the world cannot persecute people and start wars with impunity, and that is essential."

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the International Criminal Court (ICC) must be able to continue its fight against global impunity without hindrance. “The ICC guarantees accountability for international crimes and gives a voice to victims around the world. It must be able to freely fight against global impunity. Europe will always stand for justice and respect for international law,” she wrote on social media.

The ICC condemned the sanctions and said it “stands firmly with its personnel and pledges to continue to provide justice and hope to millions of innocent victims of crimes around the world, in all cases before the court.”

Court officials held emergency meetings in The Hague yesterday to discuss the consequences of the sanctions, a Reuters source told Reuters.

US sanctions include freezing assets in the US for anyone designated under sanctions, as well as a ban on them and their families from entering US territory.

It is not yet clear when Washington will release the names of those under sanctions. During Trump's first term in 2020, the US imposed sanctions on then-ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and one of her top aides over her investigation into alleged war crimes by US troops in Afghanistan.

The United States, China, Russia and Israel are not members of the ICC.

Trump signed the executive order after Democrats in the US Senate blocked a Republican attempt last week to pass legislation that would have imposed sanctions on the war crimes court.

The court has already taken steps to protect its staff from possible US sanctions, paying them salaries in advance for three months, to prepare for financial restrictions that could paralyze the court's work, three sources told Reuters.

In December, ICC President Judge Tomoko Akane warned that sanctions “could quickly undermine the court’s operations in all cases and situations, and call into question its very existence.”

Russia has also criticized the court. In 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin, charging him with the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine.

Russia responded by banning entry to ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan and issuing an arrest warrant for him and two other judges.