According to a Reuters report on August 18, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the United States imposed sanctions on Tuesday against the president of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and one of the court’s senior trial lawyers.
In a statement, Rubio said the sanctions were issued under an executive order signed by former President Trump last year authorizing sanctions against the ICC. The measures target ICC President Tomoko Akane, a Japanese national, and Abdoulaye Seye, a Senegalese senior trial lawyer at the court.
Rubio claimed: “These two individuals were directly involved in ICC efforts to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute officials from governments that have not consented to ICC jurisdiction.”
The ICC condemned the sanctions, saying in a statement that such actions undermine the rule of law.
In recent years, the U.S. has repeatedly sanctioned ICC judges and prosecutors, citing the court’s investigations into American personnel and its issuance of arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and former defense minister.
In mid-July, the U.S. State Department announced a multi-agency initiative aimed at “dismantling” the ICC, seeking to “systematically weaken” its operational capacity so that it cannot take action against U.S. military personnel or government officials, or otherwise “threaten U.S. sovereignty.”
