UN Coalition Warns US Sanctions Threat Could Disrupt International Criminal Court

A coalition of countries working to defend international law has warned that a US threat to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court as an institution, rather than only its leading judges, could fundamentally disrupt the court's operations, according to The Guardian.

The warning was issued at a United Nations event held during the UN General Assembly session, convened specifically to address threats to the international legal system, the report said. It cited open disregard for the court's rulings by Israel as one example of the broader pressures facing the institution.

South Africa leads the call for enforcement

South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola issued the warning at the UN event, calling for proper enforcement of ICC rulings, according to The Guardian. The report did not name the other countries that make up the coalition or detail what specific enforcement steps they are proposing.

The Guardian's report frames the US sanctions threat as part of a widening set of actions by the Trump administration targeting the court, though it did not specify what sanctions have already been imposed on individual ICC judges or when those measures were first introduced.

The report did not include a response from the US government to the coalition's warning, nor did it detail any next steps planned by the ICC or its member states in light of the threatened sanctions.