‘We will end ICC’: US sanctions International court, threatens to cripple hours after Navi Pillay wins Nobel Peace Prize

The United States on Friday (Oct 09) imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), with Secretary of State Marco Rubio warning that Washington would take steps to cripple the court's operations. The announcement came on Friday, the same day former ICC judge Navi Pillay received the Nobel Peace Prize.

Rubio said the sanctions would block transactions with the Hague-based tribunal, which the US has never joined. The move marks another escalation in President Donald Trump's administration's campaign against the court over its investigations involving the US and Israel.

“Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC,” Rubio said in a statement.

He argued that the measures were necessary to protect American security personnel and elected officials from prosecution by the international court.

“President Trump will never allow the International Criminal Court to prosecute Americans,” Rubio said, adding that the sanctions would cut off the court's resources and weaken its ability to function.

ICC calls US sanctions an attack on international law

The ICC condemned Washington's decision, describing the sanctions as an attack on international law and the foundations of the global legal system.

The court said the measures challenged the principle that no one should be above the law. It also issued a warning, stating that “history will judge this moment”.

The Trump administration had previously imposed sanctions on individual ICC officials, including the court's prosecutor and several judges, over investigations involving the United States and Israel. Neither country is a member of the ICC.

The European Union also criticised the latest move. The European Commission called the sanctions “deeply regrettable” and said the bloc was prepared to take necessary steps to ensure the court could continue its work.

“The EU will work closely with the ICC to ensure it continues to operate effectively,” the Commission said.

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Who is Navi Pillay, the Nobel Peace Prize winner?

The sanctions announcement came on the day the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to 85-year-old South African jurist Navi Pillay.

Pillay headed the tribunal that investigated the Rwanda genocide, served as a judge at the ICC and later led a United Nations commission that accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.

Rubio's statement announcing the sanctions did not refer to Pillay or the Nobel Prize.

However, Pillay mentioned US President Donald Trump shortly after receiving applause following the announcement of her award.

“If you clap a little bit more, I may share this prize with Trump!” she said in a video posted by the Secretary General of Amnesty International.

Trump attacks Nobel decision and Pillay

Trump later criticised the Nobel Committee in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social. He accused the committee of damaging the reputation of the peace prize by selecting Pillay.

The post read, "Today the Nobel Committee shamed itself beyond repair and demeaned the once great Nobel Peace Prize by giving it to the UN's Navi Pillay. Pillay is an unabashed hater of America and Israel. In her position, she celebrated terrorists and rewarded Hamas. She conducted a phoney "investigation" claiming to find that Israel committed genocide and urging prosecution. She has no credibility in any normal sphere and has never done a thing to foster peace. Just the opposite. But what could be expected from a committee that previously gave the once-coveted peace prize to Yasser Arafat?"