Netherlands Braces for US Sanctions on International Criminal Court

The Netherlands is preparing for the United States to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court, according to diplomatic and government officials briefed on the matter. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Washington has told Dutch counterparts that sweeping measures against the tribunal are imminent.

Two people familiar with the situation said US officials warned the sanctions could be levied as early as Monday and urged the Netherlands, as the court's host state, to withdraw from the institution. The United States is not a member of the ICC, nor are Russia, China and India.

The move would mark the latest escalation in the Trump administration's campaign against the court. Washington has already sanctioned more than a dozen current and former staff members, including half of the court's sitting judges. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has described the effort as a "sweeping campaign to dismantle the threat posed by the International Criminal Court."

The sanctions are retaliation for the court's investigations of US and Israeli officials. The ICC has issued arrest warrants for top Israeli figures, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over the war in Gaza. Netanyahu and Israel strongly deny the allegations.

Sanctions, typically reserved for autocrats, terrorists and cartels, could prevent the court from accessing financial and IT services and even from paying its US employees. When the court's 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.

The ICC has spent months preparing for such a scenario. Earlier this year, it migrated off Microsoft products to a German software provider, according to three staff members who were not authorized to speak on the record. It has also switched insurance and other financial providers to companies without a US footprint.

Dutch and court officials are hoping for a six-month grace period before the sanctions take effect, arguing the institution needs time to sever ties with American companies that could face heavy financial penalties if found in violation.

The Netherlands is examining ways to help the court maintain payments to staff and protected witnesses and to ensure security at its detention facility is not disrupted. Beyond migrating to European-based alternatives, the Netherlands and the European Union have few options to shield the institution.

The EU's "blocking statute" can be used to protect European court staff by preventing European companies from complying with US measures, though it is unclear whether it would shield the ICC itself, since it is an international body rather than a European one. EU citizens are entitled to a basic bank account, but that does not provide access to credit cards or US payment facilities.

A small but growing number of the tribunal's member states have announced plans to leave in recent months, including Venezuela and Chad. Chad cited the United States in its decision, with Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Sabre Fadoul saying in a statement that during a July phone call with a US official, "the American side expressed its concerns regarding the functioning of this institution and requested that Chad reconsider" its membership.