US Sanctions ICC President Tomoko Akane, Senior Lawyer in New Escalation

The United States on Tuesday (August 18, 2026) imposed sanctions on two senior officials of the International Criminal Court (ICC), including its president, Tomoko Akane of Japan, and a senior trial lawyer, Abdoulaye Seye of Senegal. The move is the latest in a series of actions by Washington against the Hague-based tribunal, which it has accused of being 'politicized.'

In a statement, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the two individuals "have directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute officials whose government has not consented to ICC jurisdiction." Rubio did not provide examples. The sanctions bar the two officials from entering the United States and from conducting financial transactions through the U.S. banking system.

The ICC responded sharply, saying the sanctions "undermine the rule of law." The court said, "When judicial actors are threatened for applying the law, it is the international legal order itself that is placed at risk." It added that the court works to ensure accountability for the world's gravest crimes, including genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

The ICC, established in 2002 by the Rome Statute, acts as a court of last resort when countries are unable or unwilling to prosecute serious crimes. The United States signed the treaty but never ratified it, and Washington has long argued that the court could be used against American officials and service members. As a non-party to the Rome Statute, the U.S. asserts that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over its citizens or those of other non-party states such as Israel. Israel and Russia are also not ICC members. The latest sanctions are not the first imposed by the U.S. on ICC personnel; earlier measures targeted officials in connection with investigations into U.S. and Israeli actions.

The current dispute centres on ICC investigations involving Israel. In 2024, the court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the conduct of the war in Gaza. Washington has strongly opposed that move. Netanyahu himself praised the U.S. sanctions, calling the ICC "a kangaroo court that cloaks its abuse of power in the language of international law" in a social media post.

The Netherlands, which hosts the ICC in The Hague, criticised the sanctions. Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen wrote on X that "international courts and tribunals must be able to freely carry out their mandates," and said his country "disapproves of the latest sanctions against officials and staff of the ICC."

The sanctions follow a broader diplomatic offensive by the Trump administration against the court. Last month, Washington accused the ICC of "threatening" Americans and urged allies to withdraw from the Rome Statute. Chad and Venezuela have since announced plans to leave the court. The ICC has expressed concern over those withdrawals, warning that they could undermine collective efforts to ensure justice for victims of atrocities.

Human rights organisations have condemned the new measures. Last week, four groups, including Human Rights Watch (HRW), filed a lawsuit in a New York court against President Donald Trump over earlier sanctions, arguing that the measures block victims of war crimes from pursuing justice. HRW's Middle East and North Africa director, Balkees Jarrah, called the latest sanctions "a naked attempt to shield American and Israeli officials implicated in serious crimes from justice."

The ICC has also faced pressure from other quarters. In 2023, the court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine, prompting Moscow to issue its own arrest warrants for senior ICC officials. The latest U.S. action adds to the growing geopolitical friction over the role of international justice in a divided world.