U.S. Sanctions Against ICC Judges: A Betrayal of International Justice and the Legacy of “Never Again”

On February 7 and June 5, 2025, the United States, under President
Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, denounced the
International Criminal Court (ICC) as illegitimate and politicized. They
imposed sanctions on ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan and judges Solomy
Balungi Bossa, Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza, Reine Adelaide Sophie
Alapini Gansou, and Beti Hohler in retaliation for their roles in
investigating Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity. These
measures, which include asset freezes and travel bans, were explicitly
designed to retaliate against the ICC’s issuance of arrest warrants for
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister
Yoav Gallant on November 24, 2024, and to preempt potential charges
against ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir for their roles
in promoting illegal settlements and exacerbating the humanitarian
crisis in Gaza. This unprecedented interference threatens the court’s
operations and undermines the global post-Holocaust commitment to
universal accountability.

This essay argues that the international community must move beyond
verbal condemnation to enforce accountability, including economic and
diplomatic sanctions against Israel and the U.S.A., ICC charges against
Donald Trump and Marco Rubio, and the activation of the EU’s Blocking
Statute to protect the court and it’s officials from U.S. overreach.

Israel’s Actions in Gaza: A Case of Genocide

The Genocide Convention of 1948 defines genocide as acts committed with
intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or
religious group through killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm,
or imposing conditions of life calculated to bring about physical
destruction. Israel’s military operations in Gaza meet these criteria
with alarming clarity. The systematic restriction of humanitarian aid,
targeted attacks on civilians - including aid workers, emergency
services, healthcare workers, and journalists - and the destruction of
essential infrastructure like hospitals demonstrate a deliberate intent
to inflict conditions aimed at the physical destruction of Palestinians
in Gaza and meet the legal definition of genocide under Article II of
the 1948 Genocide Convention. The ICC’s November 21, 2024, arrest
warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, charging them with starvation as a
war crime and crimes against humanity, affirm this legal assessment.

Amnesty International’s December 2024 report unequivocally concluded
that Israel’s siege, which systematically denied Palestinians access to
food, water, medical supplies, and fuel, constitutes genocide by
creating conditions intended to destroy the Palestinian population. The
UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Francesca
Albanese, in her March 2024 report Anatomy of a Genocide, identified
“reasonable grounds” for genocide, citing over 54,607 Palestinian
deaths, 100,000 injuries, and the confinement of Gaza’s population to a
mere 15 square miles, leading to rampant disease and starvation. Reports
of sexual violence in detention camps, such as Sde Teiman, further
indicate genocidal intent, targeting the dignity and survival of
Palestinians.

Israeli officials’ rhetoric bolsters these findings. President Isaac
Herzog’s October 2023 statement, conflating all Palestinians with Hamas,
suggests an intent to target an entire group, not merely combatants.
Minister Smotrich’s call “not a single grain of wheat will enter Gaza”
and Ben-Gvir’s advocacy for the annexation of Gaza and West Bank reflect
with genocidal intent. These statements and actions, supported by U.S.
military and political backing, not only violate international
humanitarian law but also betray the universal commitment to “Never
Again”, a cornerstone of the post-Holocaust era.

Undermining “Never Again”: Echoes of Nuremberg

The promise of “Never Again,” born from the horrors of the Holocaust and
enshrined in the Nuremberg Trials, established a global commitment to
hold perpetrators of atrocities accountable, regardless of their status.
The Nuremberg Trials prosecuted Nazi officials for war crimes, crimes
against humanity, and genocide, despite their objections to the
tribunal’s legitimacy. The U.S.’s actions and statements mirror the Nazi
argument that international tribunals infringed on state sovereignty.
This parallel is not merely historical but profoundly symbolic. The
Nuremberg Trials established the principle that individuals, including
state leaders, bear personal responsibility for international crimes, a
principle codified in the Rome Statute, which governs the ICC. The U.S.
sanctions, by targeting judges for fulfilling their judicial duties,
violate Article 70 lit e of the Rome Statute, which prohibits
retaliation against court officials for their work. This act of
intimidation undermines the legacy of Nuremberg by shielding
perpetrators from accountability, fostering a culture of impunity that
betrays the “Never Again” commitment.

The Metaphor of Apophis, Ra, and Ma’at

In ancient Egyptian mythology, the serpent Apophis, the vile embodiment
of chaos, slithers through the underworld each night, seeking to devour
Ma’at - the sacred goddess of truth, justice, and cosmic order - and
plunge the world into eternal darkness. Seth with his spear, Isis with
her magic and Thoth with his wisdom protect Ma’at until dawn breaks and
the light of Ra ultimately defeats the forces of darkness.

Similarly Israel by it’s actios in Gaza and the United States by
shielding it from justice have plunged our world into darkness. The
International Community, the 125 member states of the ICC must now
assume the roles of the guardians of Ma’at. Sanction Israel and the U.S.
like Seth spears the serpent’s heart, use EU’s Blocking Statute like a
magical shield to protect the ICC and it’s officials from U.S.-sanctions
and use the wisdom of legal experts to press charges against those who
are committing and supporting genocide. The guardians of truth and
justice must act decisively to prevent the world from descending into
chaos and darkness.

The Need for Decisive International Action

Mere verbal condemnation of the U.S. sanctions, as expressed by the ICC,
UN experts, and human rights organizations, is insufficient to counter
this assault on international justice. The international community must
act decisively to protect the ICC’s independence and ensure
accountability. First, the ICC should pursue charges against U.S.
officials, including President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco
Rubio, under Article 70 lit d and e of the Rome Statute for offenses
against the administration of justice. Their executive order and
sanctions constitute deliberate attempts to impede, intimidate and
retaliate for the court’s work, actions that meet the criteria for
prosecution. Such a bold step would reaffirm the ICC’s commitment to
impartiality and deter further interference by powerful states.

Second, the European Union, with its 27 member states party to the Rome
Statute, must activate its Blocking Statute (Council Regulation (EC) No
2271/96) to counteract the extraterritorial effects of U.S. sanctions.
This regulation, designed to protect EU entities from foreign sanctions,
could prohibit compliance with U.S. measures against ICC judges,
ensuring that European banks and institutions do not freeze the judges’
assets or restrict their activities. By invoking the Blocking Statute,
the EU can safeguard the ICC’s operations within its jurisdiction and
signal that it will not tolerate attempts to undermine international
justice.

Third, ICC member states must strengthen their support through increased
funding, cooperation in executing arrest warrants, and public
reaffirmation of the court’s mandate. These actions would counter the
chilling effect of U.S. sanctions, which human rights activists warn
could deter witnesses and hinder investigations in other conflict zones.
Failure to act decisively risks eroding public trust in the
international legal system and emboldening other states to follow the
U.S. example, further weakening the ICC’s ability to deliver justice to
victims of atrocities worldwide.

Conclusion: Restoring the Balance of Justice

The U.S. sanctions against ICC judges represent a direct attack on the
principles of international justice, echoing the defiance of Nazi
officials at Nuremberg and undermining the promise of “Never Again.”
Israel’s actions in Gaza, characterized by systematic mass-murder with
genocidal intent, demand accountability, yet U.S. interference shields
perpetrators and perpetuates impunity. The metaphor of Apophis, Ra, and
Ma’at underscores the stakes: allowing chaos to prevail threatens the
global order that upholds truth and justice. The international community
must act decisively, pursuing ICC charges against U.S. officials Trump
and Rubio for obstructing justice and activating the EU’s Blocking
Statute to protect the court and it’s officials. Only through such
assertive measures can the legacy of Nuremberg be preserved. The victims
of Israel’s atrocious aggression demand and deserve justice.