Following the United States’ decision to impose new sanctions on the International Criminal Court, the United Kingdom said the court must be able to operate independently.
A spokesperson for the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said on Wednesday that the UK supports the ICC’s independence. The spokesperson said the UK was determined to ensure that those responsible for the gravest international crimes are held accountable.
UK stresses the Rome Statute
The ministry said the court must be allowed to carry out its mandate. It said the ICC must exercise its jurisdiction in line with the Rome Statute and investigate allegations of international crimes falling within its remit.
Two ICC officials targeted by new sanctions
The ICC said the United States’ latest sanctions targeted ICC President Tomoko Akane, a Japanese national, and Abdoulaye Seye, a Senegalese senior trial lawyer working in the Office of the Prosecutor.
The measures are being imposed as part of the sanctions process against the ICC launched by US President Donald Trump in February 2025. The court said that, in addition to nine of its 18 judges, two deputy prosecutors, its former prosecutor and one employee were under US sanctions.
ICC rejects sanctions
The ICC described the new sanctions as “blatant attacks” on judicial independence and strongly rejected the measures.
European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also expressed solidarity with the court. The two leaders said they stood with the ICC, Akane and the court’s officials.
Costa and von der Leyen said the ICC helps deliver justice to victims of the world’s gravest crimes. They said the court’s judges and officials must be able to carry out this important task independently and without external pressure.
