The lawsuit, filed with a court in New York, accuses the US government of using sanctions to obstruct the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC), thereby preventing victims of war crimes from obtaining justice.
In February 2025, shortly after Trump began his second term, the US administration imposed entry bans on several ICC judges and prosecutors and froze their assets in the United States. The move came in response to the court’s investigations and arrest warrants against senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, related to the war in the Gaza Strip.
The four human rights groups bringing the case, among them Human Rights Watch, are demanding the sanctions be lifted. They argue the measures violate laws, including those protecting freedom of expression, and hinder the prosecution of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
The ICC, based in The Hague, was established in 1998 and has been prosecuting serious crimes since 2002. More than 120 countries recognize the court’s founding treaty; the United States and Israel are not among them. Just last month, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced in a video message that Washington would pressure other nations to withdraw from the court.
Source: Tagesschau
