Executive Summary

In this report, the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (the Coalition or CICC) delves into the complex web of the United States (US) sanctions regime and exposes how a domestic legal instrument is able to function as a transnational policy enforcement mechanism intended to dismantle international justice efforts at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and beyond. Because of the extraordinary global reach of the US banking, Information Technology (IT) and service sectors, sanctions can be instrumentalised as part of an attack on efforts undertaken by two-thirds of the world’s states working in partnership with civil society and survivors to tackle impunity for the most serious international crimes. Ostensibly a response to the ICCʼs investigations in Afghanistan and Palestine, sanctions targeting the Court threaten accountability efforts for victims and survivors across all ongoing investigations in the Bangladesh/Myanmar, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Libya, Lithuania/Belarus, Mali, Burundi, Sudan, the Philippines, Ukraine and Venezuela.

While those affected by the sanctions imposed by the US administration are courageously striving to weather the storm, ensure the continuity of their work and limit disruptions, they have largely been left to do so without the needed collective backing of states and global institutions. The intended impact of sanctions goes beyond those directly designated; they deter the broader justice community, including US and non-US-based civil society, from their work, and isolate and divide members of civil society from one another, disrupting collective work. They also send a clear message to survivors: crimes committed by powerful states should remain unpunished. The report describes the impact of the sanctions on the entire Rome Statute system, and the legal and institutional frameworks and actions that states and global institutions should urgently activate to help resist such attacks and shield those affected.

First, the report traces the history of US attacks on the ICC since its establishment in 2002, culminating with the unlawful use of the sanctions regime under the two Trump presidencies to coerce, punish and isolate organisations and individuals leading accountability efforts. Next, based on interviews with technical and legal experts, the report explains the mechanics of how an executive order issued by a US president can impact the lives of individuals and institutions from The Hague to Palestine. Due to the structural dependency of the global banking and financial systems on US technology, the US Dollar and US banks, sanctions imposed by the US on foreign individuals cut off sanctioned individuals from banking and credit card systems, even for transactions in foreign currencies outside the US. Similarly, near universal reliance on US companies in IT, internet and digital services translates into a sanctioned individual in The Hague being unable to book a flight or order an Uber, and a Palestinian human rights organisation having its website and social media accounts closed, even when these activities may not technically be prohibited by the sanctions, reflecting a pattern of over-compliance observed across all sectors. The research shows that this dependency poses a threat not only to justice and accountability actors, but to the sovereignty, independence and security of states and their nationals.

Based on detailed interviews with all individuals and institutions designated under President Trump’s 2025 Executive Order, the report then presents, in interviewees’ own words, the wide ranging personal and institutional impacts of the sanctions as well as their fears at the chilling effect they are having on international justice efforts around the world.

Several highlight that it is the victims and survivors who pay the ultimate price for the sanctions. At the same time, what shines through in each and every interview is the extraordinary resilience and determination of those who are part of the international justice project, whether at the ICC, the United Nations (UN) or in a Civil Society Organisation (CSO), to continue their work despite the pressure and despite the personal cost. Those targeted continue their work undeterred. In their own words: “We work with integrity and objectivity, this has not and will not change;”[1] “We follow the law and the Jurisprudence;”[2] “We will never give up;”[3] “We will continue to reject this abuse of power;”[4] “We need to stand for accountability;”[5]  “It is down to us to show resilience.”[6]

Those involved are fully aware that what is under attack, and what is at stake, is not themselves as individuals or even the targeted institutions as such, but the rule of law and the principle that justice for atrocity crimes should not depend on the power of those responsible, but on rigorous and equal application of the law based on the facts and the law. Judges remain clear: “There cannot be different justices. There is one justice for all.”[7]

But without significant support from states, the consequences of the sanctions imposed by the US administration remain overreaching and jeopardise the rule of law internationally. Thus far, the states that built the Court and the international system it is part of have declined to activate the mechanisms specifically designed to enable it to withstand attack, including the European Union (EU) Blocking Statute. Further, states and institutions that should and could have immediately taken collective and systemic steps to oppose the sanctions and implement alternative solutions to mitigate their impact have so far declined to do so. “This is a test case for states, whether they are really standing for the principles of justice and human dignity or not, ” reflected one civil society representative.[8] Individuals, organisations and institutions are given ad-hoc responses from states and face different level of impacts on their lives, their work and their families. The final part of the report details these failures.

The report closes with a series of recommendations directed at states and the European Union (EU), the United Nations (UN), the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its Assembly of States Parties (ASP), global service providers and civil society organisations. Solutions to mitigate the consequences of the sanctions imposed by the US administration are feasible but require collective efforts and responsibility. Those solutions need to include all those designated under the sanctions, recognising their unequal effects, and not rely on an ad-hoc, case by case, approach that excludes some. It may not be possible to entirely shield those targeted from all the disruptive impacts of these unlawful attacks, but steps can and must be taken to ensure the work can continue and that protections built into the system, like the EU blocking statute, are activated.