Human rights groups sue Trump administration over ‘crippling’ ICC sanctions

Lawsuit challenges executive order targeting international criminal court for investigating Israeli crimes in Palestine Four prominent US human rights organizations have accused the Trump administration of using its “crippling” sanctions regime against the international criminal court (ICC) to undermine global efforts to prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity. In a lawsuit filed in federal court on Tuesday, the groups – the American Friends Service Committee, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Human Rights Watch and the Open Society Institute – argued that the administration’s targeting of the ICC, as well as of groups and individuals affiliated with it or assisting its work, amounts to a “blatantly illegal attack on international justice”, the groups said. The US state department and justice department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. He had called on those partners at the time to “fight back with all means”. Justice must be fair and impartial, not only directed at America’s adversaries.”.

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Scoop News DeskIsraeli · Published Tuesday, August 11, 2026 at 2:40 PM UTCUpdated Tuesday, August 11, 2026 at 6:17 PM UTC

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Those attacks, and Trump’s executive order, undermine access to justice for victims of major human rights violations and criminalize the work of those seeking to combat impunity by collaborating with the court – including the plaintiffs in the case – in violation of both constitutional protections for free speech and association and US obligations under international law, the lawsuit argues. “The Trump administration took the extraordinary step to not only deny Palestinians and victims of US torture equal access to justice, but to criminalize and punish them, their lawyers and advocates, and their partners,” said Katherine Gallagher, a senior attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights who represents victims before the ICC. “All victims of international crimes – from Sudan and Ukraine to Palestine and Afghanistan – need and deserve to have an independent and strong ICC able to fulfill its mission of ending impunity, without fear or favor.” The individuals placed under US sanctions over their work for the ICC have been subjected to travel bans, have had their bank accounts closed or frozen, and access to digital services denied.

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