The Trump administration issued sanctions against four International Criminal Court (ICC) judges, citing “illegitimate and baseless actions” targeting the U.S. and Israel.
On Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions against four ICC judges — Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda, Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza of Peru, Reine Adelaide Sophie Alapini Gansou of Benin and Beti Hohler of Slovenia — who authorized arrest warrants for Israeli officials, and supported investigations targeting U.S. personnel in Afghanistan. In a press release, Rubio described these actions as an “abuse of power” and accused the judges of being politically motivated.
“As ICC judges, these four individuals have actively engaged in the ICC’s illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America or our close ally, Israel. The ICC is politicized and falsely claims unfettered discretion to investigate, charge, and prosecute nationals of the United States and our allies,” Rubio said in a statement. “This dangerous assertion and abuse of power infringe upon the sovereignty and national security of the United States and our allies, including Israel.”
Bossa and Ibanez Carranza approved the formal investigation into alleged war crimes committed by U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The other two judges — Gansou and Hohler — ruled to authorize the arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in November 2024 after determining that both men committed war crimes while overseeing Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
“The United States will take whatever actions we deem necessary to protect our sovereignty, that of Israel, and any other U.S. ally from illegitimate actions by the ICC,” Rubio said.
The ICC quickly fired back by saying that it “deplores” the Trump administration’s actions.
“These measures are a clear attempt to undermine the independence of an international judicial institution,” the ICC said in a statement. “The ICC stands fully behind its personnel, and will continue its work undeterred, in strict accordance with the Rome Statute and the principles of fairness and due process, with a view to bringing justice to victims of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression.”
The United Nations human rights chief, Volker Türk, also called for the “prompt reconsideration and withdrawal” of the sanctions against the ICC, arguing that they “run directly counter to respect for the rule of law and the equal protection of the law—values for which the U.S. has long stood.”
Critics have noted that, as of December 2024, Türk has condemned the U.S. more than he has condemned all of China, North Korea, Cuba, Saudi Arabia and Qatar combined, and that he has never mentioned Beijing’s imprisonment of Uyghur Muslims.
A majority of House Democrats in January voted against legislation that would sanction the ICC for its arrest warrants against Israel’s leadership.
In contrast, former President Joe Biden called the ICC’s arrest warrants “outrageous” following the court’s decision, saying, “whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”
Neither the Department of State nor the ICC responded to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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