Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on member states of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to protect the court and combat impunity for international crimes. This appeal was made during the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) as the ICC grapples with increasing threats and sanctions from several nations aimed at undermining its mandate.
HRW highlighted that numerous States Parties have taken steps to weaken the ICC’s function as a court of last resort. Notably, in February 2025, former President Donald Trump issued an executive order authorizing sanctions against ICC officials and individuals supporting the court’s work. This order has been employed to freeze assets and impose entry bans on various individuals, including ICC officials and Palestinian human rights organizations.
The impact of these sanctions is significant. HRW pointed out that financial institutions often comply with U.S. sanctions, which may hinder the ICC’s ability to secure funding and access essential banking services. In response to these challenges, HRW suggested that the European Union utilize its blocking statute to counteract the effects of U.S. sanctions. This statute would prevent the extraterritorial application of laws deemed contrary to international law.
Another pressing issue highlighted by HRW is the failure of States Parties to arrest and surrender individuals against whom the ICC has issued arrest warrants. For example, Hungary did not detain Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Budapest in April 2025. Following this incident, Hungary formally withdrew from the ICC on June 2, 2025, with the withdrawal set to take effect on June 2, 2026. Similarly, three other State Parties—Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali—announced their intentions to withdraw in September 2025.
The ICC has also faced threats from the Russian government under President Vladimir Putin, which issued arrest warrants against ICC officials in retaliation for the court’s warrants against Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Additionally, the ICC experienced a serious cyber attack in June 2025, further complicating its operations.
HRW’s International Justice Director, Liz Evenson, remarked that “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.”
Despite these challenges, HRW emphasized that the ICC continues to achieve significant outcomes in the pursuit of international justice. Notably, in March 2025, the Philippines arrested and surrendered former President Rodrigo Duterte, who faces charges of crimes against humanity related to the country’s controversial “war on drugs.” The ICC has also delivered landmark rulings concerning the situations in the Central African Republic and Darfur. On July 24, 2025, the ICC convicted two senior leaders of the Anti-Balaka movement for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Bangui and western Central African Republic. Furthermore, on October 6, 2025, the ICC found Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, a former “Janjaweed” militia leader, guilty of 27 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur, Sudan.
The upcoming ASP meeting, scheduled for December 1 to 6, 2025, in The Hague, Netherlands, will primarily address issues of non-compliance by ICC States Parties. Evenson reiterated that the ICC “remains the court of last resort for thousands of victims and their families who have nowhere else to turn.” Established in 2002, the ICC has jurisdiction over individuals suspected of committing international crimes, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, as defined in the Rome Statute.
