US sanctions International Criminal Court president Tomoko Akane
The US Treasury imposed sanctions on ICC president Tomoko Akane, escalating pressure on the court over Israel and Afghanistan probes.
The United States has imposed sanctions on Tomoko Akane, the Japanese judge who serves as president of the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to the US Treasury Department. The move, announced on Tuesday, marks the latest step in Washington's campaign against the Hague-based tribunal, which was established in 2002 to prosecute war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity. The US is not a member of the court.
Last year, the US imposed targeted sanctions on several ICC officials, including prosecutors and judges, citing the court's arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant, as well as a past investigation into US troops in Afghanistan. The sanctions freeze any US assets the individuals may hold and effectively cut them off from the US financial system, which nearly all internationally operating banks are closely tied to.
In June, three ICC judges filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump and his administration over the sanctions, arguing that the measures were unlawful. The Treasury also issued a general license on Tuesday that authorises the wind-down of transactions involving Akane through September 17.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last month that the administration would intensify efforts to undermine the ICC, including a diplomatic campaign to persuade other countries to leave the institution. Rubio argued that the court posed a threat to US personnel carrying out Trump's hardline immigration policies or strikes on boats accused of carrying drugs, as well as other US service members. Trump has said the campaign was aimed at defending Netanyahu and others from prosecution, rather than himself.
The sanctions against ICC officials were intended in part to head off any future attempts to hold the president or his officials accountable for US military action overseas. The ICC asserts jurisdiction only if a member state is unable or unwilling to prosecute atrocities itself. However, the court's statute also gives it the power to prosecute atrocity crimes committed on the territory of member states by nationals of non-member states.