Two US nonprofits, Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) and the Taxpayers Alliance Against Genocide (TAAG), have sued the Trump administration over sanctions targeting the International Criminal Court (ICC). The sanctions, which were issued in February 2025, authorize punitive measures against ICC staffers, including sanctions and bans on entering the United States.

Background

The ICC is a Netherlands-based court that investigates war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. The US is not a member of the court, having signed the treaty that established it in 2000 but not ratified it. The Trump administration has been critical of the ICC, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio vowing to use “all the tools at our government’s disposal” to “dismantle the ICC, brick by brick, if necessary.”

The sanctions have been imposed on several organizations and individuals who have sought to investigate Israeli actions in Gaza, including three Palestinian human rights groups and a UN special human rights envoy. The nonprofits argue that the sanctions “unconstitutionally restrict Americans from seeking justice on Palestine at the ICC and working with human rights defenders designated solely for calling on the ICC to investigate Israeli and American nationals.”

Implications

The lawsuit is the first to aim to stop Trump-appointed officials from using sanctions law to bar Americans from supporting the ICC’s investigations into US and Israeli atrocity crimes. The nonprofits hope that the lawsuit will embolden human rights groups in the US to resume their critical work calling for justice and to engage with human rights activists on the ground.

Original reporting: KRDO (Colorado Springs metro) — read the source article.