Why Did Trump Sanction the ICC?

Feb 13, 2025 | The International Criminal Court sparked an angry response from Israel in when it issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip. US President Donald Trump called the warrants “baseless” as he authorized sanctions on ICC officials who investigate the US and its allies. But are there more to these sanctions?

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What Are the Implications of Trump's Sanctions against ICC? | Inside Story

Feb 8, 2025 | The executive orders are still coming thick and fast. The latest? Sanctions on the International Criminal Court. President Donald Trump says the ICC abuses its power, taking 'illegitimate and baseless' actions against the US and its ally, Israel. He also says its investigators are a threat to national security. So, how will this affect the only court with the ability to prosecute genocide and war crimes? And is the very concept of a rules-based international order under threat?

Presenter: Maleen Saeed

Guests: William Pace, former Convenor of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court.
Kenneth Roth, Visiting Professor at Princeton School for Public and International Affairs and the former Executive Director of Human Rights Watch.
David L Phillips, Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and a former senior adviser to the U.S. State Department.

Dozens of Countries Speak Out against Trump Sanctions on ICC

THE GUARDIAN: Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Mexico and Germany among many to warn of risks of undermining international criminal court

Governments around the world have rushed to defend the international criminal court after Donald Trump launched sanctions against the global body, which is seen as a vital last resort to prosecute powerful individuals accused of atrocities including war crimes and genocide.

Set up more than two decades ago to serve as an impartial and incorruptible body that had the heft to take on criminals – from militant warlords to heads of state – the ICC has found itself under attack from Washington at a time when it is investigating shocking violence in Gaza.

The US president signed an executive order on Thursday authorising aggressive economic sanctions against the ICC and travel bans on its staff, accusing the court of “illegitimate and baseless actions” targeting the US and its ally Israel. » | Harry Davies, Marina Dunbar and Oliver Holmes | Friday, January 7, 2025

Arrest Warrants Issued for Netanyahu, Gallant and Hamas Commander over Alleged War Crimes | BBC News

Nov 21, 2024 | Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have issued arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and former defence minister, as well as Hamas's military commander.

A statement said a pre-trial chamber had rejected Israel’s challenges to the court’s jurisdiction and issued warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant.

A warrant was also issued for Mohammed Deif, although the Israeli military has said he was killed in an air strike in Gaza in July.

The judges said there were “reasonable grounds” the three men bore "criminal responsibility" for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the war between Israel and Hamas. Both Israel and Hamas have rejected the allegations.

It will now be up to the ICC's 124 member states - who do not include Israel or its ally, the United States - to decide whether or not to enforce the warrants.

Settling Scores: Gaddafi's Son Faces Trial in Libya, Fair Hearing Doubtful

The son of the late Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi will stand trial today on charges of killings, allegedly committed during the country's 2011 civil war. The hearings are taking place in Tripoli as Libya has defied numerous requests from the International Criminal Court to hand Saif Al-Islam over to The Hague. The authorities insist they will ensure a fair trail but as RT's Paula Slier reports, many doubt that promise.

Gaddafi's Son Facing Gallows in Libya: Lawyer

ABC NEWS: Moamar Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam will be hanged if he is tried in Libya, his Australian lawyer has told International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

While the ICC wants Saif, the only son of the slain Libyan leader in custody, to be tried in The Hague, Libya's post-revolutionary authorities insist he should stand trial in his home country.

Libya's lawyers told a three-judge bench the country had enough evidence to charge Saif with crimes against humanity, committed when Gaddafi and his loyalists tried to put down Libya's bloody revolution last year. » | AFP | Thursday, October 11, 2012

Zintan Holds Tight to 'Prize' Saif al-Islam
Fighters in the western mountain town of Zintan have refused to give up Saif al-Islam, the most prominent son of slain ruler Muammar Gaddafi, saying his secrets are too important to risk. On Sunday, Zintanis detained an International Criminal Court lawyer who was visiting Saif al-Islam for allegedly trying to deliver letters to him. They say the letters, which she hid in her clothing, posed a danger to Libya's national security. Zintan's leaders say their people sacrificed many lives for the revolution that ended Gaddafi's rule, and that Saif al-Islam has information that could implicate Libya's interim leaders and foreign countries in wrong doing. Al Jazeera's Omar al-Saleh reports from Zintan.