International Criminal Court: Justice at Risk
www.hrw.org
Member countries of the International Criminal Court (ICC) should intensify efforts to protect the court and human rights groups campaigning for justice from attack.
  • The International Criminal Court (ICC) is under assault by the United States and Russia, among others, which are determined to undermine its mandate as the court of last resort.
  • ICC member countries need to stay firm in their defense of the court so that impartial justice remains a critical part of the rules-based international order.
  • ICC member countries should use their annual meeting to defend the court human rights groups, and others cooperating with it, and to enforce judicial findings against members who fail to arrest and surrender those sought by the court.

Member countries of the International Criminal Court (ICC) should intensify efforts to protect the court and human rights groups campaigning for justice from attack, Human Rights Watch said in a new report. The 20-page report makes detailed recommendations for the annual session of the ICC’s Assembly of States Parties, which will meet in The Hague, Netherlands, from December 1 to 6, 2025.

Throughout 2025, the US administration of President Donald Trump has imposed sanctions against court officials, a United Nations expert, and Palestinian civil society organizations in an attack on justice and the international rule of law. Russian arrest warrants issued in 2023 and 2024 against ICC officials remain pending. In June, the court faced a second serious cyber-attack with the purpose of espionage.

“Government efforts to undermine the ICC reflect broader attacks on the global rule of law, aiming to disable institutions that seek to hold those responsible for the worst crimes to account,” said Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch. “ICC member countries need to stay firm in their defense of the court so that impartial justice remains a critical part of the rules-based international order.”

The Assembly session takes place amid important ICC achievements over the past year. In March, the Philippines surrendered former President Rodrigo Duterte to the court to face charges of crimes against humanity related to the country’s notorious “war on drugs,” which killed tens of thousands of people. In October, ICC judges handed down a landmark conviction of a former “Janjaweed” militia leader for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur, Sudan.

On February 6, President Trump issued an executive order authorizing asset freezes and entry bans on ICC officials and others supporting the court’s work. The order clearly seeks to shield US and Israeli officials from facing charges before the ICC. In November 2024, ICC judges had issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

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Government sanctions should only be used to target those who are committing serious crimes, not those who document and deliver justice for such crimes, Human Rights Watch said.

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