US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the measures on Friday, accusing the court of targeting Americans and describing it as a “rogue court,” according to Reuters.
“President Trump will never allow the International Criminal Court to prosecute Americans,” Rubio said in a statement.
“That is why, today, the United States is sanctioning the International Criminal Court. We will ban transactions with this rogue court, cutting off their resources and crippling its ability to operate,” he added.
The sanctions reflect Washington’s longstanding opposition to the ICC, particularly following its arrest warrants against Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and its previous investigation into alleged crimes committed by US soldiers in Afghanistan.
However, the ICC’s Deputy Prosecutor, Nazhat Shameem Khan, condemned the move, saying it would not stop the court from carrying out its mandate.
“The sanctions are intended to undermine the rule of law internationally and the work that an independent judicial institution is doing,” Khan told Reuters.
“Our work will continue across all our situations, our investigations and our prosecutions,” she added.
Established in 2002, the ICC prosecutes individuals accused of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The court has 125 member states, including all European Union countries, while the United States is not a member. Its headquarters are in The Hague, Netherlands.
The latest measures could have broader consequences than previous US sanctions targeting individual ICC officials, as they may affect companies providing essential services to the court. US sanctions generally restrict American businesses from conducting transactions with designated entities, potentially disrupting access to banking, insurance and software services.
Following the announcement, the US Treasury issued four general licences permitting certain transactions involving the court’s telecommunications, software, pension payments and detainees.
The ICC had reportedly been preparing for possible sanctions by moving some office computers away from Microsoft software to open-source alternatives and making contingency arrangements for banking and health insurance.
Rubio said Washington had delayed the measures in the hope that the court and countries party to its founding Rome Statute would address US concerns.
“Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC,” he said.
He also urged US allies, many of which belong to the ICC, to intervene and address Washington’s objections to the court.
The sanctions announcement coincided with the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to South African jurist Navi Pillay, a former judge of the ICC Appeals Chamber who served from 2003 to 2008.
The Nobel committee said the award was intended to highlight the importance of international law at a time when judges and legal institutions were facing political pressure.
The development has added to tensions between Washington and its European allies, many of which support the ICC and are parties to its founding treaty.
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