Nobel peace laureate says US sanctions on ICC 'unacceptable'

Jurist and former UN rights chief Navi Pillay, the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, vehemently denounced the United States' sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC) this past Saturday. Speaking via video link from Nuremberg during an event at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Pillay deemed the sanctions "unheard of" and "unacceptable".

She expressed deep concern over the ongoing existence of international courts, particularly the ICC in The Hague, where hundreds of staff reportedly feel threatened. Pillay emphasized that the decision to impose sanctions on the judges simply for issuing judicial orders was unprecedented and intolerable. The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded Pillay the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.

However, both the United States, under President Donald Trump, and ally Israel vehemently condemned her being honored with the prize. The U.S. soon announced additional sanctions against the ICC, drawing immediate condemnation from member states and the United Nations. The court dismissed the sanctions as an assault on international law, warning that "history will judge" this moment.

Serving on the ICC and previously leading the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Gaza, Pillay faced criticism from Israel, which dismissed the UN's findings as "distorted and false." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the Nobel committee of losing its moral compass by honoring a "bigot" and a "bigot."

Meanwhile, U.S. President Trump labeled the committee's choice as "a disgraceful and embarrassing decision" and admitted he had "never heard of" Pillay.