Peace Action Statement on Trump Executive Order
Sanctioning the International Criminal Court

Recently, the US Senate was right in declining to advance HR 23, the provocatively named Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act, meant to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC). The House of Representatives had passed the bill soon after Congress convened, in one of its first votes of 2025. The bill is overly broad and would hurt US businesses and allies.

However, in a bear hug to his pal Bibi Netanyahu, President Trump today signed an executive order sanctioning the ICC, thereby going around Congress. While most of the stated concerns by politicians in Washington centered on spurious claims that the ICC has been unfair to Israel in issuing arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Gallant, as well as Hamas leaders, the sanctions are a dagger aimed at the heart of ICC operations. It is not an exaggeration that the sanctions could stifle the Court’s ability to carry out its mandate of holding war criminals and gross human rights abusers accountable for their actions.

Moreover, sanctioning the ICC is part of a sweeping attack by Trump on international institutions, agreements, and treaties that serve US and global security interests. And even though the US is not subject to the jurisdiction of the Court, it cannot pick and choose which indictments and prosecutions of the Court it likes, and those it doesn’t. The US signed onto the Rome Statute that established the ICC over two decades ago, but the Senate has never ratified it, and thus is not subject to the Court’s jurisdiction. Neither is Israel, but its conduct in the occupied Palestinian territories is, hence the Court’s indictments.

We urge Congress to overturn this executive order with legislation canceling the ICC sanctions.