• Four human rights groups (the American Friends Service Committee, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Human Rights Watch, and the Open Society Institute) filed a lawsuit in US federal court challenging the Trump administration’s sanctions against ICC prosecutors and judges, a UN human rights expert, and three Palestinian human rights groups.
  • The sanctions regime, and the executive order on which it is based, undermines access to justice for victims of serious international crimes around the globe and prevents civil society from working together to combat impunity.
  • The groups state that the sanctions are a blatantly illegal attack on international justice and should be struck down. The groups assert the sanctions infringe their constitutional rights to free speech, association, and religion, and violate US law and US obligations under international law.

(New York) – Four human rights groups filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York on August 11, 2026, alleging that the Trump administration is illegally sanctioning individuals and organizations affiliated with or assisting the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and is criminalizing those who associate with or otherwise support them. The suit challenges President Donald Trump’s February 6, 2025 executive order authorizing sanctions on ICC officials, judges, and others working with the court to seek justice for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

The plaintiffs (the American Friends Service Committee, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Human Rights Watch, and the Open Society Institute, a part of the Open Society Foundations) state that the sanctions are a blatantly illegal attack on international justice and should be struck down. The groups assert the sanctions force them to curtail a wide range of human rights and legal work in violation of their First and Fifth Amendment rights under the US Constitution and under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The lawsuit also argues that the sanctions exceed the president’s powers and are based on a pseudo “national emergency” that has no basis in fact.

“The fact that so many leading human rights and humanitarian organizations have come together to challenge Trump’s unlawful executive order demonstrates the widespread harm it is causing across civil society groups dedicated to bringing those responsible for grave crimes to justice,” said lead counsel Andrew Loewenstein of Foley Hoag LLP. “The plaintiffs are seeking an end to this sanctions regime, which transgresses the president’s authority and violates international and US law, including the rights to freedom of expression and religion.”

The ICC has launched 18 investigations around the globe, including in Afghanistan, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, the Philippines, Darfur (Sudan), and Ukraine. This includes a Palestine investigation that led to the issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza. Palestine is a state party to the ICC. Undermining the court makes it harder for survivors to pursue justice and have their voices heard when they have nowhere else to turn, the groups said.

“The US government’s efforts to dismantle the ICC and punish people seeking justice for grave human rights violations harm far more than the individuals and groups facing sanctions. It is an affront to all victims and survivors of war crimes and genocide,” said Joyce Ajlouny, General Secretary of the American Friends Service Committee. “This executive order seeks to intimidate human rights defenders and deter people of conscience from advocating for the rights and dignity of others. We are joining this lawsuit because we refuse to stay silent when the pursuit of justice is criminalized.”

The sanctions are one of many actions the Trump administration has taken against free speech, protest, and advocacy in support of the human rights of Palestinians. To date, the Trump administration has used the order to sanction ICC prosecutors, eight ICC judges, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, and three leading Palestinian human rights groups.

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