Washington has never looked kindly on the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Clinton administration signed the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the court, but refused to submit it to the Senate; the Bush administration withdrew that signature in 2002 and pushed through legislation restricting cooperation with the court. What is happening now is different in kind. Refusing to join an institution is one thing; sanctioning its sitting judges and prosecutors is another. This is state sovereignty asserting itself, reminding international organizations who really makes the rules and where the limits of international law lie.
On Aug. 18, Washington added the court’s president, Tomoko Akane, and a senior trial lawyer, Abdoulaye Seye, to its sanctions list. This was the first time the United States had sanctioned a sitting president of an international court. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the ICC “corrupt and fatally politicized” and vowed to press on until the court could no longer threaten U.S. sovereignty. He had already put the goal plainly in July, promising to dismantle the court “brick by brick.”
With Akane and Seye added, the list now covers nine of the court’s 18 judges, both deputy prosecutors, former chief prosecutor Karim Khan, three Palestinian human rights organizations, and U.N. Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese. Last month the State Department went further, promising more sanctions and visa restrictions while pressing states parties to cut funding for the court and withdraw from it.
