US sanctions against the ICC: Imperial power in the service of impunity
Under Trump’s Executive Order No. 14203, the designation subjects the ICC to US financial sanctions that threaten to restrict its access to American banks, technology, and other essential services. Given the United States’ influence over the global financial system, these restrictions could disrupt the Court’s operations, including investigations, witness protection, and even the delivery of assistance and reparations to victims.
October 13, 2026
NUPL
The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers is a nationwide voluntary association of human rights lawyers in the Philippines, committed to the defense, protection, and promotion of human rights, especially of the poor and the oppressed.

PRESS STATEMENR

We condemn the Trump administration’s imposition of sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC) itself, escalating its earlier sanctions against thirteen judges and prosecutors. This is a brazen attempt to cripple an independent court, intimidate its judges and prosecutors, and obstruct proceedings involving grave international crimes.

Under Trump’s Executive Order No. 14203, the designation subjects the ICC to US financial sanctions that threaten to restrict its access to American banks, technology, and other essential services. Given the United States’ influence over the global financial system, these restrictions could disrupt the Court’s operations, including investigations, witness protection, and even the delivery of assistance and reparations to victims.

Trump has made clear whom he intends to protect: US personnel and Israeli leaders Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, against whom the ICC has issued arrest warrants. Once again, imperial America, through the Trump administration, has demonstrated its willingness to shield the genocidal state of Israel from accountability.

This is imperial power in the service of impunity. The United States cannot dictate who may be investigated, whose crimes may be prosecuted, or which victims deserve justice. Neither sovereignty nor military alliances confer immunity for grave international crimes.

The sanctions also threaten proceedings of particular importance to Filipinos. The ICC has confirmed three counts of crimes against humanity against former President Rodrigo Duterte, whose trial is scheduled to begin on November 30. The families of victims of the so-called war on drugs have fought for years to hold those responsible accountable. Their pursuit of justice must not be jeopardized by Trump’s campaign against the Court.

Our defense of the ICC is not an uncritical endorsement of the institution or of an international order marked by unequal power. International justice must be scrutinized for selectivity, inconsistency, and its failure to hold the powerful to account. But these shortcomings demand more consistent accountability, not sanctions intended to obstruct proceedings against those whom powerful states seek to protect. We oppose both selective justice and selective immunity.

We demand the immediate lifting of US sanctions and concrete action by states parties to defend the ICC’s independence and ensure its continued operations. We call on the Philippine government to unequivocally condemn these sanctions, cooperate fully with the Court, and take steps toward rejoining the Rome Statute.

We stand with the victims and families seeking accountability for state violence in the Philippines, Palestine, and elsewhere, against the efforts of powerful states to shield perpetrators from justice.

The United States must not be allowed to weaponize its economic power to veto international justice. ###

Photo credit: ICC

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