UN rapporteurs react to US sanctions against ICC officials

UN rapporteurs made a written statement on the issue.

The statement reminded that the USA decided to impose sanctions on ICC President Akane and Abdoulaye Seye, one of the court's senior officials, on August 18, and pointed out that with this decision, the USA sanctioned 11 current or former ICC officials.

The statement called on ICC member countries to take bold and urgent steps to protect the court against unlawful interventions, adding: "States should take immediate action to reduce the impact of these measures on judges, prosecutors and staff at the International Criminal Court." The expression was used.

The US sanctions against ICC President Akane and the court's senior officials were condemned and called for their immediate removal.

"The ICC and its staff cannot weather this powerful storm alone. The vital work (the ICC) does for the Institution and humanity is now faced with an unprecedented attack," the statement said. warning was made.

The statement also condemned the US sanctions against UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine Francesca Albanese, and noted that they were in contact with US officials regarding these concerns.

USA added ICC President Akane and one official to the sanctions list

The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant due to war crimes committed in Gaza on November 21, 2024.

Following this decision, the USA included ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan in the sanctions list in June 2025, and in August 2025, it imposed sanctions on 4 more ICC members due to their "attitudes against Israel".

With the decision taken on August 18, Washington added the President of the ICC, Japanese judge Tomoko Akane, and one of the court's senior officials, Abdoulaye Seye, to the sanctions list.

US President Donald Trump had criticized the ICC many times and called on allied countries to "withdraw from the ICC".

UN special rapporteurs

UN special rapporteurs are known as part of the process known as the "special mechanisms of the Human Rights Council".

Independent ad hoc mechanisms in the UN Human Rights System stand out as independent information gathering and monitoring mechanisms of the Council that address the situation of a particular country or thematic issues elsewhere in the world.

Experts from special mechanisms that are not within the institution carry out their work on a voluntary and independent basis.