The United States announced sanctions on the International Criminal Court on Friday, hours after Nobel Peace Prize laureate Navi Pillay received the award. The Treasury Department said the measures will target the court's technology and banking operations, aiming to cripple day‑to‑day functions. The sanctions mirror Trump’s long‑standing opposition to the ICC, which he has called a “cancer” and vowed to dismantle “brick‑by‑brick.” The move follows the court’s issuance of an arrest warrant for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged crimes in Gaza. Pillay, who led the UN Commission of Inquiry that confirmed genocide in Gaza, said the sanctions were a “reaction to the fact that the award was not given to President Trump.”
Pillay told AFP that the sanctions were illegal and that Trump needed a lesson in international law. “Call in your legal advisers to explain to you what international law is,” she said, accusing the U.S. of double‑standard interference. She added that the sanctions would set a dangerous precedent for selective accountability.
The U.S. administration has repeatedly framed ICC actions as interference in domestic affairs. Trump’s administration has called for the court’s dismantlement, citing the warrant against Netanyahu as proof of bias. The U.S. has also previously welcomed an ICC arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin, a stance that Pillay described as selective and wrong.
Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten has urged Washington to negotiate reforms to the court while the sanctions take effect in six months. Pillay dismissed reforms as euphemistic, insisting the U.S. wants to shield its citizens from ICC investigations. She warned that allowing selective justice would erode the court’s legitimacy.
At 85, Pillay reflects on her Nobel win with a mixture of humility and resolve. She plans to invest part of her 12 million Swedish kronor prize in a South African university unit that bears her name, hoping to support education for children and youth amid the continent’s continuing struggles.