Brussels, August 19: European Union (EU) leaders expressed strong support for the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Wednesday. This backing comes just a day after the United States imposed sanctions on the court’s president and a senior lawyer.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa took to social media platform X to affirm their solidarity with the ICC, its president, Tomoko Akane, and the officials working to advance its mission.
They emphasized that the ICC plays a crucial role in delivering justice to victims of some of the world’s most heinous crimes. Furthermore, they stated that judges and officials of the court must be able to perform their duties freely and without external pressure, as reported by the Xinhua News Agency.
The Trump administration announced sanctions on Tuesday against two senior ICC officials, including the president, as Washington intensified its campaign against the tribunal based in The Hague.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that these sanctions target Japan’s ICC President Tomoko Akane and Senegal’s senior trial lawyer, Abdul Sayeh. They are accused of being directly involved in efforts to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute officials from governments that have not recognized the ICC’s jurisdiction.
Rubio remarked that the ICC has repeatedly attempted to assert its authority over citizens of countries that have not accepted its jurisdiction or ratified the Rome Statute. This sets a dangerous precedent for all nations.
Under these sanctions, U.S. individuals are prohibited from engaging in transactions with Akane and Sayeh, effectively barring both officials from utilizing the U.S. financial system.
The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, and it rejects the tribunal’s attempts to exercise jurisdiction over citizens of non-member states, including U.S. personnel and Israeli officials.
Tensions escalated after the ICC issued arrest warrants in 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant concerning war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the Gaza conflict. The ICC asserts its jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed within member states, regardless of the suspect’s nationality.
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