“We do not take this step lightly,” the State Department stated. “It reflects the seriousness of the threat we face from the ICC’s politicization and abuse of power.”
The U.S. State Department announced on Thursday that it imposed sanctions on four judges at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, marking the first time that the United States has used that punitive tool against justices at the independent tribunal.
The department stated that judges Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza of Peru, Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda, Reine Alapini-Gansou of Benin and Beti Hohler of Slovenia would be sanctioned for their role in investigating Israel and the United States.
“As ICC judges, these four individuals have actively engaged in the ICC’s illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America or our close ally, Israel,” Marco Rubio, the U.S. secretary of state, stated. “The ICC is politicized and falsely claims unfettered discretion to investigate, charge and prosecute nationals of the United States and our allies.”