US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on 18 August 2026 that Washington had imposed sanctions on International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane of Japan and ICC Senior Trial Lawyer Abdoulaye Seye of Senegal. According to , the Treasury Department's website confirmed the designations the same day, formally cementing Rubio's announcement. The action marks the latest step in the Trump administration's stated effort to dismantle the court, which more than 120 member states empower to investigate war crimes.
Rubio said the two officials had been penalised for participating in ICC efforts to investigate, arrest, detain or prosecute individuals whose governments have not accepted the court's jurisdiction, an authority granted under an order President Donald Trump signed last year.
"[T]he International Criminal Court (ICC) is a corrupt and fatally politicized supranational court that has maliciously abused its authority and exceeded its mandate. We will not tolerate its assault on state sovereignty," Rubio said.
The ICC has been asked for comment, and neither Trump nor the White House had responded publicly by the time of publication.
Under what authority were the sanctions imposed?
Both Akane and Seye were added to the Treasury's Specially Designated Nationals list, a designation that freezes any US-based assets they hold and bars American individuals and companies from conducting transactions with them, according to Anadolu Agency. The same report notes the designations were made under Executive Order 14203, which Trump signed on 6 February 2025 and which had already been used to sanction ten other ICC officials before Monday's action. In practice, sanctioned individuals face severe restrictions on even routine financial transactions, since banks with US ties or that process dollar transfers must comply with the restrictions.
Who else has already been sanctioned?
The Trump administration has now targeted at least 11 ICC officials, including nine judges and the court's former chief prosecutor, over the past 18 months. Separately, notes that several ICC officials were sanctioned last year specifically over the court's arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant, as well as its investigation into alleged conduct by US personnel in Afghanistan. A French outlet, Le Monde, similarly reported that Washington had sanctioned 11 ICC judges over that period, a figure that broadly matches but is framed differently from the administration's own tally of judges and prosecutors combined.
Netanyahu has rejected the war crimes allegations against him and has accused the court of antisemitic bias. Neither the United States nor Israel is a member of the ICC.
Why has Trump long opposed the court?
Trump's hostility toward the ICC dates back to his first term, when he described it as a "threat" and told the United Nations General Assembly it holds "no jurisdiction, no legitimacy, and no authority" over the United States. Last month, Rubio urged the ICC's 125 member states to withdraw from the court entirely, part of what a US official described as a campaign to dismantle the institution "brick by brick," adding that Washington would "watch with interest" which countries heeded the call.
According to the State Department, the July 2026 campaign explicitly includes visa revocations, travel bans, expanded sanctions and sustained diplomatic pressure on other nations to leave the court, going well beyond the asset freezes announced this week.
How has the ICC been affected by its own internal troubles?
The pressure campaign has coincided with turmoil inside the court itself. ICC members voted on 24 July 2026 to remove chief prosecutor Karim Khan following a lengthy investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against him, a development that has added to questions about the institution's internal governance even as it faces external sanctions pressure from Washington.
How are rights groups and judges pushing back?
Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch, told a press conference last week that the administration's approach amounts to shielding US allies from accountability.
"The Trump administration seeks a get-out-of-jail-free card for whomever it chooses," Evenson said.
On 11 August 2026, four US human rights organisations filed suit against the administration, arguing the sanctions regime is unconstitutional. Human Rights Watch, the Open Society Institute, the American Friends Service Committee and the Center for Constitutional Rights said in their New York filing that the sanctions block them from working with the court on cases involving genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity worldwide. In June 2026, three ICC judges — Kimberly Prost of Canada, Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda and Reine Alapini-Gansou of Benin — separately sued the administration in federal court, contending the sanctions imposed on them were designed to coerce and punish members of the judiciary. A White House official responded at the time that Trump had lawfully exercised authority granted under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
What happens next?
US and ICC officials have not announced further concrete steps beyond Monday's designations, but reporting from on 13 July 2026 indicated the administration is weighing additional measures, including sanctions on organisations affiliated with the court and continued diplomatic pressure urging member states to withdraw. Rubio, in a July video statement launching the broader campaign, accused the ICC of "waging a war against our country" through "statutes, compacts and the force of so-called international law."
"Today, it threatens every aspect of our political and legal system," Rubio said. "If they believe they can deprive us of our sovereignty, we will teach them the full meaning of American resolve."
Key Facts
- Sanctions were announced against ICC President Tomoko Akane and Senior Trial Lawyer Abdoulaye Seye on 18 August 2026, confirmed via the US Treasury's Specially Designated Nationals list.
- The designations rely on Executive Order 14203, signed by Trump on 6 February 2025, which had already been used against ten other ICC officials.
- At least 11 ICC officials, including nine judges and a former chief prosecutor, have now been sanctioned by the administration.
- Four US rights groups sued the administration on 11 August 2026 over the sanctions, calling them unconstitutional; three ICC judges filed a separate suit in June 2026.
- Neither the United States nor Israel is a member of the ICC, which was established in 2002 with jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
