US sanctions International Criminal Court president
What's the story
The United States has imposed sanctions on International Criminal Court (ICC) President Tomoko Akane and senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye. The new sanctions designations were unveiled by Secretary of State Marco Rubio who accused Akane and Seye of directly engaging in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute officials whose government has not consented to ICC jurisdiction. He called ICC a "corrupt and fatally politicized supranational court that has maliciously abused its authority and exceeded its mandate."
Asset impact
Sanctions freeze US-based assets
The sanctions freeze any US-based assets of the targeted individuals and restrict their access to the US financial system.
The Treasury Department also issued a general license allowing transactions involving Akane to be wound down until September 17.
These measures are part of Washington's broader campaign against the ICC, which was established in 2002 to prosecute individuals accused of war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity.
Criticism voiced
US's repeated criticism of ICC
The US has repeatedly criticized the ICC's investigations involving American and Israeli officials.
The state department last month unveiled an effort to "dismantle the threat" posed by the ICC. It said the ultimate goal was to "disable the ICC's ability to operate, target American servicemen...or otherwise threaten American sovereignty."
The US had previously sanctioned ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, who had sought arrest warrants for the Israeli PM, Benjamin Netanyahu, and former defense minister Yoav Gallant, over war crimes in Gaza.
Withdrawal urged
Rubio calls on ICC member countries to withdraw
Rubio has called on all 125 member countries of the ICC to withdraw from the body.
He did not specify which efforts Akane and Seye were involved in, but Israeli media reported that Seye is overseeing an inquiry into Israeli funding for illegal settlements and the distribution of weaponry to settlers in the West Bank.
The US has already designated 11 ICC officials for sanctions over cases that also include investigations into the actions of US soldiers in Afghanistan.
Non-member stance
Neither US nor Israel is an ICC member state
Neither the United States nor Israel is a member state of the ICC or recognizes its jurisdiction.
The ICC usually exercises jurisdiction when a member state is unable or unwilling to prosecute serious international crimes itself.
However, under the Rome Statute, it can also exercise jurisdiction over crimes committed on the territory of a member state by nationals of non-member countries.