(SeaPRwire) – By: Julian Holbrooke
The US sanctions on International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane aren’t just a political jab. They’re a direct assault on the idea that no one is above the law. Washington’s talk of sovereignty hides a fear: the ICC might hold its citizens accountable for past actions.
Official statements frame the ICC as a rogue institution. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it “corrupt and fatally politicized” and accused it of exceeding its mandate. This is part of his campaign to “systematically dismantle” the court’s threat to US sovereignty. But the real reason? The ICC investigated alleged war crimes by US military and intelligence staff in Afghanistan. Akane anticipated the sanctions. She told Japanese publisher Bungei Shunju she wasn’t shocked, but warned: “What is important is not to let this become the beginning of the end of the international rule of law.” The ICC, founded in 2002 under the Rome Statute, has 123 member states. But major powers like the US, Russia, China, and India have never ratified the treaty.
The White House claims the ICC targets non-member states. Yet the court has issued warrants for leaders of non-members beyond the US. In 2023, it ordered the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin over the alleged unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children. Moscow called the warrant void. In 2024, it issued warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over Gaza. US President Donald Trump condemned those warrants in a 2025 executive order. The Philippines left the ICC in 2019, but the court still arrested former President Rodrigo Duterte in 2025 over his anti-drug campaign. African nations—Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Chad—are leaving the ICC too, saying it targets their countries disproportionately. The US sanctions only reinforce this perception: the court is a tool for the West to pick and choose who to prosecute.
This move will have lasting consequences. Powerful nations will feel emboldened to ignore international courts. Smaller countries will lose trust in a system that can’t stand up to the US. The geopolitical pendulum is shifting away from collective justice. It’s moving toward a world where might makes right—and that’s a dangerous place for everyone.
Author bio: Julian Holbrooke, an overseas international relations analyst who contributes to major European daily newspapers.