ICC President Affirms "We Will Not Surrender" Despite U.S. Sanctions

The President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Tomoko Akane, affirmed on Wednesday that she “will not give up,” even if the United States decides to expand its sanctions against her to include the Court itself.

In addition to Akane, US sanctions targeted last week the ICC’s current Deputy Prosecutor, Senegalese national Abdoulaye Seye, as part of a campaign led by US President Donald Trump’s administration against the Court, which it describes as “corrupt and politicized.”

Speaking at an online press conference from Tokyo, Akane stated that the sanctions imposed on her have so far resulted in a ban on the use of her credit card.

She added, “Even if sanctions are imposed on the International Criminal Court itself, we will not give up.”

She continued, “It is absolutely unacceptable to close an institution like the International Criminal Court. We must not allow it to be shut down. We will resist with all our strength.”

Akane’s remarks came a day after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi described the US sanctions as “very regrettable.”

Takaichi said on Tuesday, “As the largest funder of the International Criminal Court, we must protect this important institution,” adding that Japan would act “when necessary and wherever required.”

The US sanctions were a response to the ICC’s investigations into Israel and its issuance in 2024 of arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, in connection with the war in Gaza.

Akane expressed hope that Japan would play a larger role in supporting the Court, “engaging with less influential member states that may succumb to US pressure to withdraw from the Court, and encouraging them to unite.”

Despite the sanctions, she affirmed her determination to continue her work, noting that “judges who faced similar sanctions in the past also encountered difficulties, but they never lost their passion for their work nor ever requested resignation.”

She added, “I want to follow their example.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had accused Akane and Seye of taking action against “officials whose governments did not accept the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.”

The International Criminal Court was established in 1998 and began its operations in 2002. It is mandated to prosecute individuals accused of committing genocide, crimes against humanity, crimes of aggression, and war crimes.