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THE HAGUE: Dutch officials are preparing for the United States to impose a tough new round of sanctions on the International Criminal Court as it seeks to dismantle the global tribunal over what the Trump administration sees as overstepping its authority.<\/p>\n
Officials in the court\u2019s host country, the Netherlands, have been notified that the sanctions are imminent and are looking at ways to help the tribunal keep operating, including paying staff, protecting witnesses and maintaining the detention facility, diplomatic and government officials with knowledge of the briefings told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.<\/p>\n
Washington has already sanctioned more than a dozen current and former staff members, including half of the court\u2019s sitting judges, in what US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has described as a \u201csweeping campaign to dismantle the threat posed by the International Criminal Court.\u201d<\/p>\n
The US and Israel have strongly objected to the court\u2019s arrest warrants for top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over the war in Gaza. The US also has opposed investigations into its military actions in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
Like Russia, China, India and Israel, the US is among countries that have never joined the panel, with Washington citing fears of politically motivated prosecutions of its military. The court currently has 125 member states.<\/p>\n
The sanctions could prevent the court from accessing financial and IT services, and even paying its US employees. When the court\u2019s former chief prosecutor was sanctioned in 2025, he lost access to his Microsoft email, his bank accounts were frozen and he was barred from entering the United States.<\/p>\n
According to two sources familiar with the situation, US officials warned their Dutch counterparts that sanctions would be levied as early as Monday and encouraged the court\u2019s host state to withdraw from the institution.<\/p>\n
The ICC was established in The Hague in 2002 as the court of last resort to prosecute individuals responsible for the world\u2019s most heinous atrocities: war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression. It takes on cases when nations are unable or unwilling to prosecute crimes on their territory.<\/p>\n
US officials did not immediately reply to a request for comment. \u201cThe Trump Administration has been clear: the International Criminal Court is a corrupt and fatally politicized supranational court that has maliciously abused its authority and exceeded its mandate,\u201d Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement when announcing sanctions on the court president last month. \u201cWe will not tolerate its assault on state sovereignty.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ICC has been preparing for months for the possibility of sanctions. Earlier this year, the court migrated off Microsoft products onto a German software provider, according to three ICC staff members who were not authorized to speak on the record. The tribunal has also changed insurance and other financial providers to companies without a footprint in the US, they said.<\/p>\n
Dutch and court officials are hoping for a six-month grace period before the sanctions come into effect, arguing that the institution needs time to sever itself from American companies, which could face huge financial penalties if they are found to be in violation.<\/p>\n
Beyond migrating to European-based alternatives, the Netherlands and the European Union have few options to protect the institution.<\/p>\n
The EU \u201cblocking statute\u201d can be used to protect European court staff by preventing European companies from complying with the US measures, though it\u2019s unclear whether the statute would shield the ICC itself, because it\u2019s an international body, not a European one. EU citizens are entitled to a basic bank account, but that doesn\u2019t provide access to credit cards or US payment facilities.<\/p>\n
A small but growing number of the global tribunal\u2019s member states have announced plans to leave the institution in recent months, including Venezuela and Chad.<\/p>\n
Chad specifically cited the US in its decision to withdraw. Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Sabre Fadoul said in a statement that during a phone call with a US official in July, \u201cthe American side expressed its concerns regarding the functioning of this institution and requested that Chad reconsider\u201d its membership.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n