UN rights chief urges US to lift sanctions against ICC officials

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk on Wednesday called on the US to lift sanctions imposed on the president of the International Criminal Court and a member of its prosecution staff.

“Unacceptable new sanctions imposed by the USA against the International Criminal Court’s President and a prosecution staff member must be lifted,” Turk said on US social media platform X.

He renewed his call for states to “stand in defence of the institutions they have created to uphold and defend human rights and the rule of law.”

He also urged states to protect court officials targeted by “such reprisals.”

The sanctions are part of a broader pressure campaign by the Trump administration against the Hague-based court.

The tension follows the ICC's issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza.