US sanctions imposed on ICC president and senior lawyer in campaign against court

The US has imposed sanctions on Tomoko Akane, the president of the International Criminal Court (ICC), and Abdoulaye Seye, a senior trial lawyer, in a campaign against the court, which it accuses of threatening American sovereignty. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Akane and Seye have been involved in efforts to investigate or prosecute officials from countries that have not consented to ICC jurisdiction.

The sanctions come as part of the Trump administration's efforts to defend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others from potential prosecution by the ICC. The US and Israel are not parties to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC. The administration aims to dismantle the ICC's threat to national sovereignty and expects other countries to end their funding and participation in the institution.

Brief written by urgent.news from The National UAE's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.