Marco Rubio Threatens To Use Sanctions To ‘End’ The ICC After Former Judge Awarded Nobel Peace Prize

The Trump administration is sanctioning the International Criminal Court and is banning transactions with it to cut off its resources and cripple its ability to operate.Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s Friday announcement came hours after a former judge of the court, Navanethem Pillay, was named as the recipient of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.President Trump has long criticized the court. He signed an executive order last year setting out the sanctions, stating that the court had engaged in “illegitimate and baseless actions” targeting America and Israel, including investigating, arresting and prosecuting their citizens. Mr. Trump has warned the court could try to prosecute American troops.The Hague-based court’s mandate is to investigate and prosecute genocide and war crimes. In 2024 it issued an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes during Israel’s military response to the Hamas terrorist invasion of October 7, 2023.Mr. Rubio said the sanctions were delayed to give the court an opportunity to make “basic gestures of good faith” and in hopes the court would change course. But he said the court had yet to take meaningful steps to address the administration’s concerns. “President Trump will never allow the International Criminal Court to prosecute Americans,” Mr. Rubio said in a release. “Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC,” Mr. Rubio added.The sanctions block Americans and businesses from working with the court and give the government the ability to seize assets in the United States. Mr. Rubio says the sanctions are structured to give the court an opportunity to negotiate and come up with a diplomatic solution. America has never ratified the treaty establishing toe court and is not bound by its decisions.Mr. Trump has urged member countries to leave the court and has imposed sanctions on some of its judges and prosecutors.The ICC called the sanctions an “unprecedented” targeting of an independent judicial institution. “It is an assault on the rule of law and on the very foundations of the international legal order which strikes at the simple principle that no one stands above the law,” the court said in a statement.Mr. Rubio didn’t mention Friday’s Nobel award in announcing the sanctions but the timing was conspicuous. The Nobel Committee said it awarded the peace prize to Ms. Pillay for her “efforts to promote peace and international law.” “Pillay has been on the forefront of developing international law for many, many years,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s chairman Jørgen Watne Frydnes said. “We want to send a message with this year’s prize that all the judges, all the institutions that are upholding the rule of law, are worthy of our support.”Critics have accused Ms. Pillay of carrying out a campaign against Israel. “Awarding Pillay the Nobel Peace Prize isn’t a recognition of justice. It’s the grotesque weaponization of an award to legitimize anti-Israel hatred and prejudice,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry wrote on X.Ms. Pillay oversaw a United Nations report that claimed Israel committed genocide in Gaza and on Friday, Mr. Trump re-posted a harsh criticism of the Nobel Committee’s selection. “Pillay is an unabashed hater of America and Israel. In her position she celebrated terrorists and rewarded Hamas,” the David Schoen’s post stated. Mr. Schoen was part of Mr. Trump’s defense team during his second impeachment trial in the Senate.“She has no credibility in any normal sphere and has never done a thing to foster peace. Just the opposite,” the post continued.The formal presentation ceremony for the prize will take place on December 10 at Oslo. After being awarded the Nobel medal and diploma, Ms. Pillay is set to deliver a lecture to the audience at Oslo City Hall.

Marco Rubio Threatens To Use Sanctions To ‘End’ The ICC After Former Judge Awarded Nobel Peace Prize

Marco Rubio Threatens To Use Sanctions To ‘End’ The ICC After Former Judge Awarded Nobel Peace Prize

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