Trump’s Pressure Campaign On The ICC Is Falling Apart
HuffPost
As the U.S. and Israel pressure the International Criminal Court for its work on Gaza, dozens of global governments sent a signal of support for accountability this week.
For almost a year, President Donald Trump has waged an unprecedented campaign against a core institution of international law, the International Criminal Court, seeking to end its work on the war in Gaza. This week suggested that Trump remains far from the outcome he wants.
Officials from the ICC’s 125 member states have been conferring in The Hague at their first annual assembly since U.S. sanctions began upending the lives of court personnel and those who work with them. Those governments have reiterated they have no plans to concede to Trump, and instead have made statements suggesting the court can continue functioning — including by pursuing Israeli officials for their role in the war.
The ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant in late 2024 over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, which remain in effect. (Both men deny criminality.) Israel says alleged misconduct by the ICC prosecutor (which he denies) should render those warrants moot, but there is no sign the court sees any problem in the warrants that could provide a basis for acceding to Tel Aviv and Washington. And the court got fresh proof its members are willing to help it hold individuals accountable for atrocities, as Germany on Monday handed over a Libyan suspect who German authorities detained in July.
“It’s been a constructive mood [with] a lot of states leaning in to working together to project a sense of support for the court,” Liz Evenson, the international justice director at Human Rights Watch, told HuffPost.
Trump targeted ICC officials during his first presidency over its probes of U.S. actions in Afghanistan, but he has attacked people connected with the court more aggressively in his second term.
