Washington: Four US human rights organizations on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the administration of President Donald Trump, accusing it of using sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC) to undermine international efforts to prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity.

According to Anadolu Agency, the lawsuit was filed in federal court by the American Friends Service Committee, Center for Constitutional Rights, Human Rights Watch, and Open Society Institute. These groups argue that the US administration's sanctions against the ICC, and those supporting its work, constitute a 'blatantly illegal attack on international justice.'

The groups stated, 'This is an unlawful abuse of power constituting a frontal attack on the rule of law, the independence of judges, prosecutors, and lawyers, basic precepts undergirding the international legal order, and the principle of equal access to justice.' They further claimed that this action causes significant damage to the ability to bring perpetrators of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity to justice.

The lawsuit challenges President Trump's executive order from February 2025, which authorized sanctions against ICC officials, judges, and others involved in the court's investigation of alleged Israeli crimes in Palestine. This investigation is one of 18 being conducted by the court into war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Despite the US not being a party to the ICC and historically opposing its work, tensions escalated after the court issued arrest warrants in November 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged crimes in Gaza. In response, the US sanctioned ICC prosecutors, judges, three leading Palestinian human rights groups, and Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories.