The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and its member organisations strongly condemn yesterday’s executive order, which establishes a sweeping sanctions regime against the International Criminal Court (ICC), its supporters, and those seeking justice for mass atrocities, including victims and their advocates, striking at the very heart of international justice.
- This draconian executive order undermines the ICC’s core mandate of preventing and ending impunity for the most serious crimes, and threatens its daily operations, obstructing access to justice for victims of Rome Statute crimes: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression, across ICC situation countries around the world.
- By potentially targeting ICC staff and judges, legal representatives for victims, civil society, service providers, national authorities, and others including even victims themselves, the executive order jeopardises international efforts to combat impunity for mass atrocities.
- FIDH calls on all 125 ICC States Parties to publicly denounce the executive order as an attack on international justice and accountability, and to take decisive measures to defend the ICC’s independence, ensure its effective functioning, and protect victims’ rights and equal access to justice.
The Hague, Paris, 7 February 2025. Yesterday, President Trump issued an executive order declaring a national emergency and establishing a comprehensive sanctions regime targeting the ICC. The executive order authorises sanctions against individuals and/or entities listed in an annex (not yet publicly released), and future sanctions against foreign individuals and entities who engage in or support ICC efforts to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute American or allied nationals, including Israeli officials. Sanctions include asset freezes and travel bans on foreign individuals and entities that provide legal, financial, material, or technological support to these ICC efforts. American individuals and entities are prohibited from offering specified forms of support to sanctioned individuals or entities, and violations may result in civil or criminal penalties under US law.
The executive order poses a significant threat to the ICC and its partners, including staff, judges, victims, witnesses, legal representatives for victims, civil society, and service providers like banks and tech companies, and even extends to ICC member states that assist or support investigations against protected persons. The order also authorises future sanctions against certain individuals who support already sanctioned persons, further expanding its reach. The far-reaching executive order also mandates a report within 60 days to identify additional targets for sanctions.
A glaring double standard
As President Trump calls to “clean out” and “take over” Gaza and welcomes Israeli Prime Minister and ICC suspect Benjamin Netanyahu this week, his administration escalates its assault on international justice by openly advocating for the commission of international crimes and attempting to dismantle global efforts to ensure accountability and justice for victims. This executive order also reveals the US’s glaring double standards - demanding accountability for adversaries like Vladimir Putin (Russia) and Omar al-Bashir (Sudan) while shielding its own citizens and allies from scrutiny. This hypocrisy is further reinforced by Trump’s 21 January 2025 executive order rescinding Biden-era sanctions on far-right Israeli settler groups accused of violent attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. By selectively applying principles of justice and accountability, this administration prioritises political interests over the rule of law, undermining the principle of equality before the law, and the foundations of human rights and international justice.
According to Katherine Gallagher, Senior Staff Attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and legal representative for victims at the ICC, “This executive order is a direct attack on an independent judicial institution necessary for combating impunity for atrocity crimes. It targets an incalculable number of victims, lawyers, investigators, victims representatives, and others in an attempt to stymie the work of the Court and keep it from doing its job of seeking to hold Israeli officials accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in Gaza.” She added, “The United States should concern itself with upholding international norms rather than working to dismantle international justice mechanisms and perpetuating systemic impunity for itself and Israeli leaders."
Diana Alzeer, FIDH vice president and representative of Al-Haq, also stressed the broader impact of this executive order on all victims of atrocities: "This is an affront to victims in the Situation of Palestine before the ICC; however, its impact goes far beyond, affecting all other victims. It has a chilling effect on all situations, shields war criminals, and further green-lights international crimes. By aligning itself with war criminals, the US further emboldens its own complicity in crimes, particularly in the Situation of Palestine. These sanctions are a threat to the very foundation of international justice. By targeting the Court, they jeopardize all investigations and prosecutions, from Venezuela and Sudan to Myanmar, Ukraine, Afghanistan, and beyond. The message to victims and the global community is devastating: US leadership is willing to obstruct their pursuit of justice worldwide.”
In light of this egregious attempt to interfere with the ICC’s independent mandate, FIDH urges the ICC Prosecutor to investigate US officials, including President Donald Trump, for potential ’Offences against the administration of justice’ under Article 70 of the Rome Statute. This may include allegations of ’impeding, intimidating’ or ’retaliating’ against Court officials in relation to their investigations, prosecutions, and adjudication of alleged crimes in the Palestine situation.
A dangerous precedent, time to fight back
Now is also the time for ICC States Parties to fight back decisively. Alexis Deswaef, FIDH Vice President, emphasised that, “this executive order sets a dangerous precedent, by attacking the ICC and threatening a global network of civil society organisations, human rights defenders, and victim representatives, including our FIDH members and partners, who engage with the Court. States Parties to the Rome Statute must speak out against this assault on international law by taking concrete steps to safeguard the ICC’s work and victims’ access to justice.” He specified that, “this includes publicly opposing these harmful measures, reaffirming their commitment to the Court, and ensuring cooperation remains strong. Impunity must not be allowed to prevail — victims deserve action, not silence, from those who have pledged to uphold their rights."
FIDH calls on all the 125 ICC States Parties to act immediately and decisively and:
– Publicly condemn the executive order as a grave threat to the ICC’s functioning, independence, victims’ rights, and the broader international justice system.
– Cooperate with the ICC in investigations and prosecutions of all suspects, as required under the Rome Statute. These legal obligations include enforcing arrest warrants, such as the one against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Poland, France, Italy, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Germany and other ICC States Parties have suggested that they may not enforce the arrest warrant. This not only obstructs justice for victims, emboldens perpetrators of mass atrocities, but also threatens the very legitimacy of the institution at a moment when the Court needs state support more than ever.
– Safeguard ICC personnel and partners, including civil society organisations, from reprisals, sanctions, or interference. States must implement protective measures, such as adopting national and regional blocking statutes similar to the European Union, which could add ICC-related sanctions to its scope, to help shield suppliers and ensure financial and logistical support to the Court’s daily operations.
– Apply diplomatic pressure, including issuing démarches, sending private letters, and bilateral engagement, to urge the US to rescind this harmful executive order, and uphold global efforts to combat impunity.
FIDH will continue to stand in solidarity with victims, and remains steadfast in its support for the ICC. We will continue to work with civil society, States Parties, and all stakeholders to ensure that the ICC’s mandate is upheld and that access to justice for victims of Rome Statute crimes is ensured.
Background Information
On 6 January, FIDH joined over 130 human rights organisations, legal experts, and civil society groups in an open letter calling on members of the 119th Congress and the incoming Presidential Administration of Donald Trump to oppose attacks on the ICC. On 14 January, FIDH joined more than 145 of the Coalition for the ICC’s member non-governmental organisations in a joint statementto strongly oppose US sanctions and to urge ICC States Parties to defend the ICC, its officials, and those cooperating with it from measures aimed at undermining the Court’s vital mandate for justice.
The United States has long maintained a contentious relationship with the ICC in opposing its jurisdiction over US citizens and allies while demanding accountability for adversaries under international law. The executive order represents an escalation of this antagonism, building on prior measures that targeted the ICC and its affiliates. The inclusion of an annex system in yesterday’s executive order appears to allow for enforcement against designated foreign persons and entities to be accelerated compared to President Trump’s 2020 executive order, which allowed for case-by-case designations of individuals and entities. Until such an annex with specific designations is created or made publically available, the extent of the sanctions’ reach remains uncertain. In the meantime, the executive order is already having a chilling effect, as some organisations and individuals are preemptively distancing themselves from the ICC to avoid potential penalties.
