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US sanctions International Criminal Court chief Tomoko Akane

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The United States imposed sanctions on Tuesday on the International Criminal Court’s president and a senior trial lawyer at the court, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.

The move is the latest escalation in the Trump administration’s campaign against The Hague-based court, which was established ‌in 2002 by the international community to prosecute war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.

The US is not a member of the court.

Rubio said in a statement that he was imposing sanctions on Tomoko Akane, a Japanese judge who is president of the International Criminal Court, and Abdoulaye Seye, a senior trial lawyer and a Senegalese national, under a Trump executive order last year authorising sanctions against the court.

“These individuals have directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute officials whose government has not consented to ICC jurisdiction,” Rubio said.

The exterior of the International Criminal Court is seen in The Hague in March. Photo: AFP
The exterior of the International Criminal Court is seen in The Hague in March. Photo: AFP

The ICC condemned the move, ⁠saying in a statement that the measures undermine the rule of law.