US 'weaponising' sanctions against ICC judges to shield Israel, EFF says
The EFF has condemned the US for sanctioning judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Image: EFF / X
The EFF has sharply condemned the US government’s latest extension of sanctions against judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC), calling it a “brazen attack on judicial independence” and an effort to shield Israel from accountability.
The sanctions, imposed by the Trump administration, target two additional ICC judges who upheld the court’s investigation into alleged war crimes in Gaza, following their rejection of Israel’s legal challenge to halt the probe.
This brings the total to eight judges and at least three prosecutors sanctioned under the current US administration.
“This is a brazen attack on judicial independence and an attempt by a non-state party to the Rome Statute to interfere with an international institution tasked with ending impunity for atrocity crimes,” the EFF said in a statement.
“The US is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC as a court of last resort for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.”
The EFF argued that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio justified the sanctions as a response to judges’ decisions against Israel’s attempt to halt ICC proceedings, including arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defence Minister.
“Sanctioning judges for upholding international criminal law is more than an attack on the ICC, it is an assault on justice itself,” the EFF said.
The political backdrop deepens the drama.
Relations between the US and South Africa have been strained, highlighted by the recent G20 summit in 2026, where South Africa was notably excluded after the Trump administration abruptly ended the summit in Johannesburg last month.
Analysts say the sanctions against ICC judges reinforce a pattern of US unilateralism and coercive diplomacy on the global stage.
“The United States has consistently used its power at the United Nations Security Council to shield Israel from censure, vetoing resolutions and deploying diplomatic pressure to ensure impunity instead of justice,” the EFF said.
“A global power that refuses to be bound by the very legal frameworks designed to prevent atrocities has no moral or legal basis to undermine institutions that do act within those frameworks.”
The EFF described the ICC probe as a necessary response to Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestine and the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where indiscriminate attacks have killed civilians, destroyed infrastructure, and displaced entire communities.
“For Donald Trump and his administration to move aggressively to undermine the ICC at this moment, and specifically in defence of Israel, exposes the true depth of the United States’ alliance with genocide,” the EFF said.
The party urged US allies and democratic nations to condemn Washington’s interference and uphold international justice.
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