‘Seeking end to sanctions regime’: US human rights groups sue Trump over ICC crackdown

Four major US human rights organisations have sued the Trump administration over its sanctions campaign against the International Criminal Court (ICC), arguing that the measures are unconstitutional and restrict their ability to work with the court.The lawsuit, filed in New York on Tuesday, challenges an executive order issued by President Donald Trump last year that authorised sanctions against ICC prosecutors, judges and others associated with the court, reported Reuters. The groups said the sanctions have prevented them from cooperating with the ICC in cases involving genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.Human Rights Watch, the Open Society Institute, the American Friends Service Committee and the Center for Constitutional Rights are the plaintiffs in the case.

“The plaintiffs are seeking an end to this sanctions regime, which transgresses the president’s authority and violates international and U.S. law, including the rights to freedom of expression and religion,” said Andrew Loewenstein of law firm Foley Hoag LLP, which is representing the groups.The lawsuit is the latest legal challenge to Trump's efforts to weaken the Hague-based court. Three ICC judges have separately sued the administration over the sanctions, while advocacy groups working on Palestinian human rights filed a similar case last month.

The State Department, responding to that earlier lawsuit, accused the groups of seeking to “enable ICC overreach” and said the court posed a threat to US sovereignty.Trump's opposition to the ICC dates back to his first term. In 2020, he issued a similar executive order authorising sanctions against ICC personnel, but a US judge later blocked the measures, finding that they likely violated the First Amendment. The order was subsequently rescinded by President Joe Biden's administration in 2021.The Trump administration has since renewed its campaign against the court. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last month that Washington would intensify efforts to undermine the ICC, including by urging other countries to withdraw from the court.Rubio has argued that the ICC could threaten US personnel involved in Trump's immigration policies, military operations and strikes against boats allegedly carrying drugs.Trump, during a July 31 Cabinet meeting, said the campaign was intended to defend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others rather than himself.