The United States has imposed sanctions on International Criminal Court (ICC) President Tomoko Akane and senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Tuesday.
Akane, a Japanese judge who heads the ICC, and Seye, a Senegalese national, were sanctioned under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump last year authorising measures against the court.
Rubio said the two officials had “directly engaged” in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain or prosecute officials whose governments had not consented to the court’s jurisdiction.
The ICC, established in 2002, prosecutes individuals accused of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.
The United States is not a member of the court.
The latest sanctions come after Washington previously targeted several ICC officials over the court’s investigations, including its arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as its investigation into US troops in Afghanistan.
The sanctions freeze any US-based assets belonging to the affected individuals and restrict their access to the US financial system.
The US Treasury Department also issued a general licence allowing transactions involving Akane to be wound down by September 17.
Rubio said the Trump administration would intensify efforts to undermine the ICC, including through diplomatic efforts aimed at persuading other countries to withdraw from the institution.
The US has argued that the ICC poses a threat to its personnel, including those involved in immigration enforcement and military operations.
However, while the US is not a member of the ICC, the court can exercise jurisdiction over alleged atrocity crimes committed in the territory of member states, including where the accused is a national of a non-member country.
