The experts said the bill would set a “dangerous precedent” in eroding international law enforcement.
By Sharon Zhang ,
January 10, 2025
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese holds a press conference in Geneva on December 11, 2024.
FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP via Getty Images
Agroup of UN human rights experts is urging the U.S. Senate to block a bill that seeks to punish the International Criminal Court (ICC) and people affiliated with it after the body issued arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, condemning the bill as “dangerous” and against international law.
“It is shocking to see a country that considers itself a champion of the rule of law trying to stymie the actions of an independent and impartial tribunal set up by the international community, to thwart accountability,” the four experts said in a statement on Friday.
The statement was put out by Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers Margaret Satterthwaite; Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese; Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order George Katrougalos; and Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights Ben Saul.
Agroup of UN human rights experts is urging the U.S. Senate to block a bill that seeks to punish the International Criminal Court (ICC) and people affiliated with it after the body issued arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, condemning the bill as “dangerous” and against international law.
“It is shocking to see a country that considers itself a champion of the rule of law trying to stymie the actions of an independent and impartial tribunal set up by the international community, to thwart accountability,” the four experts said in a statement on Friday.
The statement was put out by Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers Margaret Satterthwaite; Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese; Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order George Katrougalos; and Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights Ben Saul.
On Thursday, the House overwhelmingly voted to pass the bill, entitled the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act, garnering the support of nearly all Republicans in the chamber and 45 Democrats. Opponents of the bill have pointed out that the bill is seemingly purpose-built to ensure that Israeli leaders enjoy impunity at a time when there is an increasing consensus among human rights experts that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
The bill compels the president to issue sanctions for ICC officials and people who assist in ICC proceedings against a U.S. ally. It also targets the families of these individuals with sanctions, which include barring them from entering the United States.
Many civil and human rights organizations have warned that the bill is overly sweeping and would even further erode the fabric of international humanitarian law and could help engineers of war crimes evade accountability.
It’s unclear if the Senate will take up the bill. The last time the House passed the bill, in June, the Senate declined to take it up, as President Joe Biden vowed to veto the legislation. However, the Senate is now under Republican control, and Donald Trump is slated to take office in less than two weeks.
The UN experts said imposing sanctions on the ICC is, in itself, a violation of international law. Experts have previously written to U.S. officials expressing concern over lawmakers’ threats against the ICC.
“Imposing sanctions on justice personnel for fulfilling their professional responsibilities is a blatant violation of human rights, striking at the core of judicial independence and the rule of law,” the experts said. “Such actions erode public trust in the impartiality and integrity of justice and set a dangerous precedent, politicising judicial functions and weakening the global commitment to accountability and fairness.”
Other groups have also condemned the House’s passage of the bill. Amnesty International U.S.A. called the passage “deeply disappointing.”
“The ICC is part of a global system of international justice of which the U.S. was a chief architect at Nuremberg and beyond,” the group said. “If the Senate follows suit, it will do grave harm to the interests of all victims globally and to the U.S. government’s ability to champion human rights and the cause of justice.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said that the bill is a direct attempt to shield Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from facing consequences for his actions in Gaza.
Lawmakers voting for the bill are “violating their oath to faithfully uphold our own nation’s laws,” said CAIR Director of Government Affairs Department Robert S. McCaw. “It seems the far-right Israeli government’s supporters in Congress are increasingly desperate to stop the inevitable from happening: war criminals like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders being held accountable for their abhorrent genocidal crimes against Palestinians.”
The U.S. is one of only a handful of states, including Israel, not party to the Rome Statute; the U.S. has long been hostile to the ICC, potentially in part due to some U.S. officials’ implication in alleged war crimes, as some commentators have pointed out.
UN Experts Urge US Senate to Reject ICC Sanctions Bill Passed by House
"It is shocking to see a country that considers itself a champion of the rule of law trying to stymie the actions of an independent and impartial tribunal set up by the international community, to thwart accountability."
Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) speaks to reporters in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on December 17, 2025.
(Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Brett Wilkins
Jan 11, 2025
COMMON DREAMS
Four independent United Nations experts on Friday urged United States senators to oppose legislation passed earlier this week in the House of Representatives that would sanction members of the International Criminal Court after the tribunal issued arrest warrants for Israeli leaders for alleged crimes against humanity in Gaza.
H.R. 23, the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act—introduced by Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Brian Mast (R-Fla.)—passed the House on Thursday with strong bipartisan support. Forty-five Democrats joined all 198 Republicans who voted in favor of the bill, which, if passed by the Senate and signed by the president, would "impose sanctions with respect to the International Criminal Court (ICC) engaged in any effort to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute any protected person of the United States and its allies."
A similar bill was passed by the House earlier this year failed to clear the Democrat-controlled Senate. The upper chamber is now under Republican control.
Responding to the proposal, Margaret Satterthwaite, the U.N. special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers; Francesca Albanese, special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967; George Katrougalos, independent expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order; and Ben Saul, special rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights, said in a statement:
It is shocking to see a country that considers itself a champion of the rule of law trying to stymie the actions of an independent and impartial tribunal set up by the international community, to thwart accountability. Threats against the ICC promote a culture of impunity. They make a mockery of the decades-long quest to place law above force and atrocity.
The tireless work of brave legal professionals at the ICC is the main driver for accountability. The work of its prosecutors becomes the foundation upon which our efforts to uphold the integrity of the system of international law is resting. We call upon all state parties to the ICC and on all member states in general, to observe and respect international standards, as it relates to legal professionals working to bring accountability for the most grave international crimes.
Although neither the Israel or the United States is a party to the Rome Statute, the treaty underpinning the ICC that's been ratified by 125 nations, Palestine is a signatory to the treaty and crimes committed there by non-signatories can still be prosecuted.
In November, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant—who ordered the "complete siege" of Gaza that experts say is to blame for the rampant starvation, sickness, and deprivation of basic human necessities such as food, water, medicine, and shelter that has resulted in Palestinians, mostly babies and children, dying of preventable causes including malnutrition, disease, and hypothermia.
The warrants were for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza. The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, as well as the kidnapping and abuse of Israeli and international hostages.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, Israel's 463-day assault on Gaza has killed more than 46,500 Palestinians in Gaza. However, this could be a vast undercount. A peer-reviewed study published this week by the esteemed British medical journal The Lancetfound that, between October 7, 2023 and June 30, 2024 alone, more than 64,000 Gazans were killed by Israeli forces.
The International Court of Justice is currently weighing a genocide case against Israel brought by South Africa and supported by numerous nations, most recently Ireland.
The Biden administration and most of Congress oppose the ICC warrants, as does Republican President-elect Donald Trump, whose pick for national security adviser, Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), has threatened a "strong response" to the ICC for its move to bring the Israeli leaders to justice.
The U.N. experts asserted that "international standards provide that lawyers and justice personnel should be able to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference; and should not suffer, or be threatened with, prosecution or administrative, economic or other sanctions for any action taken in accordance with recognized professional duties, standards, and ethics."
"We urge U.S. lawmakers to uphold the rule of law and the independence of judges and lawyers," they added, "and we call on states to respect the court's independence as a judicial institution and protect the independence and impartiality of those who work within the court."
"It is shocking to see a country that considers itself a champion of the rule of law trying to stymie the actions of an independent and impartial tribunal set up by the international community, to thwart accountability."
Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) speaks to reporters in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on December 17, 2025.
(Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Brett Wilkins
Jan 11, 2025
COMMON DREAMS
Four independent United Nations experts on Friday urged United States senators to oppose legislation passed earlier this week in the House of Representatives that would sanction members of the International Criminal Court after the tribunal issued arrest warrants for Israeli leaders for alleged crimes against humanity in Gaza.
H.R. 23, the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act—introduced by Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Brian Mast (R-Fla.)—passed the House on Thursday with strong bipartisan support. Forty-five Democrats joined all 198 Republicans who voted in favor of the bill, which, if passed by the Senate and signed by the president, would "impose sanctions with respect to the International Criminal Court (ICC) engaged in any effort to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute any protected person of the United States and its allies."
A similar bill was passed by the House earlier this year failed to clear the Democrat-controlled Senate. The upper chamber is now under Republican control.
Responding to the proposal, Margaret Satterthwaite, the U.N. special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers; Francesca Albanese, special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967; George Katrougalos, independent expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order; and Ben Saul, special rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights, said in a statement:
It is shocking to see a country that considers itself a champion of the rule of law trying to stymie the actions of an independent and impartial tribunal set up by the international community, to thwart accountability. Threats against the ICC promote a culture of impunity. They make a mockery of the decades-long quest to place law above force and atrocity.
The tireless work of brave legal professionals at the ICC is the main driver for accountability. The work of its prosecutors becomes the foundation upon which our efforts to uphold the integrity of the system of international law is resting. We call upon all state parties to the ICC and on all member states in general, to observe and respect international standards, as it relates to legal professionals working to bring accountability for the most grave international crimes.
Although neither the Israel or the United States is a party to the Rome Statute, the treaty underpinning the ICC that's been ratified by 125 nations, Palestine is a signatory to the treaty and crimes committed there by non-signatories can still be prosecuted.
In November, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant—who ordered the "complete siege" of Gaza that experts say is to blame for the rampant starvation, sickness, and deprivation of basic human necessities such as food, water, medicine, and shelter that has resulted in Palestinians, mostly babies and children, dying of preventable causes including malnutrition, disease, and hypothermia.
The warrants were for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza. The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, as well as the kidnapping and abuse of Israeli and international hostages.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, Israel's 463-day assault on Gaza has killed more than 46,500 Palestinians in Gaza. However, this could be a vast undercount. A peer-reviewed study published this week by the esteemed British medical journal The Lancetfound that, between October 7, 2023 and June 30, 2024 alone, more than 64,000 Gazans were killed by Israeli forces.
The International Court of Justice is currently weighing a genocide case against Israel brought by South Africa and supported by numerous nations, most recently Ireland.
The Biden administration and most of Congress oppose the ICC warrants, as does Republican President-elect Donald Trump, whose pick for national security adviser, Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), has threatened a "strong response" to the ICC for its move to bring the Israeli leaders to justice.
The U.N. experts asserted that "international standards provide that lawyers and justice personnel should be able to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference; and should not suffer, or be threatened with, prosecution or administrative, economic or other sanctions for any action taken in accordance with recognized professional duties, standards, and ethics."
"We urge U.S. lawmakers to uphold the rule of law and the independence of judges and lawyers," they added, "and we call on states to respect the court's independence as a judicial institution and protect the independence and impartiality of those who work within the court."
45 Democrats Vote With GOP to Pass Bill Sanctioning ICC Over Netanyahu Warrant
“Republicans want to sanction the ICC simply because they don’t want the rules to apply to everyone,” one lawmaker said.
By Sharon Zhang ,
“Republicans want to sanction the ICC simply because they don’t want the rules to apply to everyone,” one lawmaker said.
By Sharon Zhang ,
January 9, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at the district court in Tel Aviv for his hearing on corruption charges on December 10, 2024.Menahem Kahana / Pool / AFP via Getty Images
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The House has overwhelmingly voted to pass a bill to sanction the International Criminal Court (ICC) over its issuing of arrest warrants for Israeli leaders for their alleged crimes against humanity in Gaza, as the death toll from Israel’s genocide tops 46,000 people, with many more deaths likely going uncounted.
The Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act passed 243 to 140, with 45 Democrats voting with nearly all Republicans to pass the legislation. It has not yet been introduced in the Senate, with Democrats and some Republicans reluctant to advance it when the Senate was under Democratic control, and it is unclear whether it could get the 60 votes it requires to pass.
If signed into law, the bill compels the president to issue sweeping sanctions on individuals and the families of individuals affiliated with the ICC who seek to investigate, arrest, detain or prosecute people protected by the U.S. The bill has been described by experts as overly sweeping and extremely dangerous for the already weak fabric of international law, severely weakening the court’s ability to seek accountability for war criminals across the world.
The bill specifically calls out the ICC’s warrants for Israeli leaders, claiming that they’re “illegitimate.” As Sludge has reported, AIPAC has lobbied for its passage. The House previously passed the bill, introduced by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), but the legislation wasn’t taken up by the Senate. Forty-two Democrats voted for the legislation then.
Opponents of the bill have said that the true purpose of the bill is to shield Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from facing any consequences for his administration’s genocide in Gaza.
“Republicans want to sanction the ICC simply because they don’t want the rules to apply to everyone,” said Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Massachusetts) on the House floor on Thursday.
McGovern highlighted that Republicans are moving to erode human rights while ignoring urgent issues within the U.S.
“We have a natural disaster unfolding in California right this second…. We have a gun violence epidemic, as we see massacres in our schools nearly every single day. And families are unable to make ends meet because they’re being ripped off by billionaire corporations,” said McGovern. “All those challenges, and this is what the out of touch elitist billionaire Republican party wants to waste time on. Sanctioning the ICC.”
Indeed, the bill is the second considered by the newly sworn in House, making it one of Republicans’ top priorities for the new session.
“What’s their top priority the first week of the new Congress? Lowering costs? Addressing the housing crisis? No, it’s sanctioning the International Criminal Court to protect genocidal maniac Netanyahu so he can continue the genocide in Gaza,” said Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan).
McGovern added that there had been negotiations to change the legislation to make it weaker in its attacks against the ICC, but House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) had overridden the debate to pass the “most extreme version” of the bill. Republicans also rushed the bill to the floor, naming it as 1 of 12 bills for which points of order were waived as part of the new House rules package.
Like many human rights and civil society groups have warned, McGovern also said that the sanctions will even further isolate the U.S. on the international stage.
“Where is our humanity? Have we just given up on the idea of human rights? At least 45,000 people have been killed in the war in Gaza, and I fear that number is much higher,” he said.
“People are dying. Children are dying. Babies are dying. Some of them from the bombs, some from starvation, some from the cold.”
“For us in Congress to get involved in sanctioning the ICC because we don’t like the fact that they are pointing out some of the serious issues in Gaza, committed by one of our closest allies — for us to sanction them because of that undermines the court, undermines our credibility in the world, undermines our credibility on human rights,” said McGovern.
Senate Republicans have openly threatened to go after ICC officials who have pursued arrest warrants for Israeli leaders. In May, a group of 12 senators signed a letter saying, “Target Israel and we will target you.” The letter, for which the lead signer was Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), concluded, “You have been warned.”
This week, a group of 114 civil society, advocacy and rights groups signed a letter urging Congress not to pass the bill, emphasizing the danger of the U.S. undermining the infrastructure of international human rights enforcement.
“By applying these measures to a court that 125 countries – and on two occasions, the United Nations Security Council — have entrusted with providing accountability for atrocity crimes, the United States has brought upon itself the stigma of siding with impunity over justice,” the letter says. “[S]anctions send a signal that could embolden authoritarian regimes and others with reason to fear accountability who seek to evade justice.”
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The House has overwhelmingly voted to pass a bill to sanction the International Criminal Court (ICC) over its issuing of arrest warrants for Israeli leaders for their alleged crimes against humanity in Gaza, as the death toll from Israel’s genocide tops 46,000 people, with many more deaths likely going uncounted.
The Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act passed 243 to 140, with 45 Democrats voting with nearly all Republicans to pass the legislation. It has not yet been introduced in the Senate, with Democrats and some Republicans reluctant to advance it when the Senate was under Democratic control, and it is unclear whether it could get the 60 votes it requires to pass.
If signed into law, the bill compels the president to issue sweeping sanctions on individuals and the families of individuals affiliated with the ICC who seek to investigate, arrest, detain or prosecute people protected by the U.S. The bill has been described by experts as overly sweeping and extremely dangerous for the already weak fabric of international law, severely weakening the court’s ability to seek accountability for war criminals across the world.
The bill specifically calls out the ICC’s warrants for Israeli leaders, claiming that they’re “illegitimate.” As Sludge has reported, AIPAC has lobbied for its passage. The House previously passed the bill, introduced by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), but the legislation wasn’t taken up by the Senate. Forty-two Democrats voted for the legislation then.
Opponents of the bill have said that the true purpose of the bill is to shield Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from facing any consequences for his administration’s genocide in Gaza.
“Republicans want to sanction the ICC simply because they don’t want the rules to apply to everyone,” said Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Massachusetts) on the House floor on Thursday.
McGovern highlighted that Republicans are moving to erode human rights while ignoring urgent issues within the U.S.
“We have a natural disaster unfolding in California right this second…. We have a gun violence epidemic, as we see massacres in our schools nearly every single day. And families are unable to make ends meet because they’re being ripped off by billionaire corporations,” said McGovern. “All those challenges, and this is what the out of touch elitist billionaire Republican party wants to waste time on. Sanctioning the ICC.”
Indeed, the bill is the second considered by the newly sworn in House, making it one of Republicans’ top priorities for the new session.
“What’s their top priority the first week of the new Congress? Lowering costs? Addressing the housing crisis? No, it’s sanctioning the International Criminal Court to protect genocidal maniac Netanyahu so he can continue the genocide in Gaza,” said Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan).
McGovern added that there had been negotiations to change the legislation to make it weaker in its attacks against the ICC, but House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) had overridden the debate to pass the “most extreme version” of the bill. Republicans also rushed the bill to the floor, naming it as 1 of 12 bills for which points of order were waived as part of the new House rules package.
Like many human rights and civil society groups have warned, McGovern also said that the sanctions will even further isolate the U.S. on the international stage.
“Where is our humanity? Have we just given up on the idea of human rights? At least 45,000 people have been killed in the war in Gaza, and I fear that number is much higher,” he said.
“People are dying. Children are dying. Babies are dying. Some of them from the bombs, some from starvation, some from the cold.”
“For us in Congress to get involved in sanctioning the ICC because we don’t like the fact that they are pointing out some of the serious issues in Gaza, committed by one of our closest allies — for us to sanction them because of that undermines the court, undermines our credibility in the world, undermines our credibility on human rights,” said McGovern.
Senate Republicans have openly threatened to go after ICC officials who have pursued arrest warrants for Israeli leaders. In May, a group of 12 senators signed a letter saying, “Target Israel and we will target you.” The letter, for which the lead signer was Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), concluded, “You have been warned.”
This week, a group of 114 civil society, advocacy and rights groups signed a letter urging Congress not to pass the bill, emphasizing the danger of the U.S. undermining the infrastructure of international human rights enforcement.
“By applying these measures to a court that 125 countries – and on two occasions, the United Nations Security Council — have entrusted with providing accountability for atrocity crimes, the United States has brought upon itself the stigma of siding with impunity over justice,” the letter says. “[S]anctions send a signal that could embolden authoritarian regimes and others with reason to fear accountability who seek to evade justice.”
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