Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, strongly condemned the United States government’s decision to impose sanctions on four International Criminal Court (ICC) judges. On Friday, Türk called the sanctions “deeply corrosive of good governance and the due administration of justice” and urged the United States to promptly reconsider and withdraw them.
“I am profoundly disturbed by the decision of the Government of the United States of America to sanction judges of the International Criminal Court - specifically four women judges, from Benin, Peru, Slovenia and Uganda - who had been part of rulings in the situations in Afghanistan or in the State of Palestine,” Türk said.
On Thursday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio targeted these four judges. The judges are overseeing a case involving allegations of war crimes committed by US and Afghan military forces in Afghanistan. They are also overseeing the 2024 arrest warrants issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Rubio’s move is based on a February executive order by the US president that seeks to impose sanctions on ICC officials, thereby undermining the court’s independent and impartial judicial work. The new measures follow the previous sanctioning of ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan.
The US sanctions are seen by legal observers as an attempt to avoid accountability for international crimes and to promote impunity, even as atrocities continue to devastate millions of innocent civilians around the world.
Türk emphasized that attacking judges for carrying out their judicial duties, whether at the national or international level, undermines respect for the rule of law and equal protection under the law — values for which the U. has long been a proponent.
“Such attacks are deeply corrosive of good governance and the due administration of justice,” he said.
His comments follow an official ICC statement issued on Thursday, describing the sanctions as “a clear attempt to undermine the independence of an international judicial institution which operates under the mandate from 125 States Parties from all corners of the globe.”
The ICC noted that it provides justice and hope to millions of victims of atrocities, adheres strictly to the principles of the Rome Statute, and upholds the rights of victims and suspects alike.
The Court further argued that such sanctions do nothing to help civilians trapped in conflict and only encourage those who believe they can act with impunity.
“These sanctions are not only directed at designated individuals, they also target all those who support the Court, including nationals and corporate entities of States Parties,” the ICC statement said.
“They are aimed against innocent victims in all Situations before the Court, as well as the rule of law, peace, security and the prevention of the gravest crimes that shock the conscience of humanity.”
On Friday, the ICC’s Assembly of State Parties — the Court's legislative body — also sharply rejected the US sanctions as “regrettable attempts to impede the Court and its personnel in the exercise of their independent judicial functions“ and “a regrettable affront to the independence of the Court and the integrity of the Rome Statute system.”
“Such actions risk undermining global efforts to ensure accountability for the gravest crimes of concern to the international community and erode the shared commitment to the rule of law, the fight against impunity, and the preservation of a rules-based international order,” the Presidency of the Assembly said.
Crimes allegedly committed by Israeli and US officials
Israel's war in Gaza has been marked by serious war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other violations of international humanitarian law by Israeli forces. These include the collective punishment of civilians, the use of starvation as a method of warfare, the denial of humanitarian aid, the indiscriminate killing of civilians, the targeted killing of civilians, the launching of disproportionate attacks, the forced displacement of civilians, torture, and enforced disappearances.
Leading human rights organizations and rights experts have concluded that Israeli actions in Gaza constitute not only war crimes and crimes against humanity but also genocide against Gaza's population, as the Israeli government's actions appear to be aimed at deliberately inflicting living conditions intended to destroy a group or part of a group, as defined in the Genocide Convention.
Meanwhile, the Israeli government continues to receive political, financial, and military support from the US government. Senior US officials, such as Rubio, are implicated in ongoing atrocities by the Israeli army in Gaza and other actions by Israeli authorities that may amount to genocide, either by their actions or their failures to act.
Since 1988, the United States has been a party to the Genocide Convention. US officials can be held accountable under the Convention for complicity in genocide. According to the Convention, genocide includes deliberately inflicting conditions of life on a group or part of a group that are calculated to bring about its physical destruction.
Officials may also be prosecuted for incitement to genocide based on their official statements or for conspiracy to commit genocide based on their ongoing interactions with Israeli authorities. Both incitement and conspiracy are prohibited by US law and are punishable in American courts.
US officials can also be investigated and prosecuted by the International Criminal Court, even though the United States is not a member. The ICC has jurisdiction over crimes committed on the soil of its members, including Afghanistan and Palestine.
While the US often promotes accountability for international crimes committed by others, it resists similar scrutiny of its own actions and those of its closest allies, such as Israel. The US government rejects the application of universal jurisdiction, which would allow other countries to prosecute members of the US government or the US military, even if they may have committed some of the most serious crimes under international law, such as war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
Fearing prosecution for these crimes and seeking impunity, the US fails to adhere to basic standards of international justice. The US has pressured other countries to sign bilateral immunity agreements that would prevent the extradition of American nationals to the ICC. Nevertheless, the US has supported ICC investigations in the past when such actions align with its geopolitical interests.
The ICC, international humanitarian law, and the plight of millions
Established in 2002 under the Rome Statute, the International Criminal Court is an intergovernmental organization and international court based in The Hague, Netherlands. The ICC has 125 state parties, representing the majority of the world's states. While independent, the ICC is supported by the United Nations General Assembly.
Several major countries, including the United States, Russia, and China, are not members. However, the Court is a judicial body that serves the interests of the international community by enforcing and promoting universally recognized rules of international law, including the law of armed conflict and human rights law.
It is the only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and the crime of aggression. It is also the primary institution responsible for prosecuting individuals for the most serious violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) and human rights law (HRL).
The Rome Statute is one of the most significant legal documents in international humanitarian and criminal law. It represents a significant advancement in the evolution of international law by establishing the principle that individuals who commit the most egregious crimes should be held accountable on an international level, thereby serving as a deterrent to atrocity crimes.
The Rome Statute established a global system to hold individuals accountable for crimes that were often overlooked by national courts, particularly when countries were unwilling or unable to prosecute the perpetrators themselves.
Violations of IHL and human rights law are closely linked to humanitarian crises because these laws establish legal norms designed to limit the impact of armed conflict on civilians, protect individuals who do not actively participate in hostilities, and regulate the means and methods of warfare.
Violations of these laws often result in significant human suffering and can trigger or exacerbate humanitarian crises. IHL requires parties to a conflict to allow and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance to those in need. Violations occur when a party deliberately blocks humanitarian aid or attacks aid workers.
When violations of IHL and HRL go unpunished, or when perpetrators enjoy impunity, it can contribute to the prolongation of conflicts and the continuation of such violations. A lack of accountability for these violations can prevent the establishment of peace and justice, thereby prolonging the humanitarian crisis and hindering recovery efforts.
Therefore, efforts by the international community to enforce international humanitarian and human rights law, as well as to hold violators accountable, are critical to preventing or mitigating humanitarian crises related to war, conflict, and human rights violations.