MORE than 100 United States-based legal experts and international practitioners have signed a joint letter, published in the Just Security policy journal, that warned that US President Donald Trump’s threats to destroy Iran’s infrastructure that are indispensable to civilian survival — leaving a nation in a condition where it “could literally never rebuild” — would entail war crimes if implemented.
This criticism, perhaps, encouraged the president to renew his rhetoric against any such legal move to hold him accountable, whether in office or not, before the ICC or the International Court of Justice.
Awaiting trial
Former president Rodrigo Duterte is detained in The Hague as he awaits trial for his alleged crimes against humanity for his so-called war on drugs during his term, in which as many as 30,000 people were allegedly shot dead by his “death squads” that included police officers and vigilantes, many of whom were rewarded.
Leaders who feel they are criticized can retaliate. This writer was charged in a court for calling on a Davao City leader to stop the killing of street youth and human rights workers. This writer fought this legal battle for one year and ultimately won when the mayor withdrew the charges.
In 2024, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense chief Yoav Gallant for crimes against humanity for their relentless attacks against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in retaliation for Hamas’ war-sparking attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that left at least 1,200 Israelis dead.
As of July 2026, at least 73,250 and 1,109 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, respectively, since Oct. 7. Their long-term plan, it seems, is to occupy and control all of the Palestinian territories and eliminate or deport the Palestinians. There are approximately 5.56 million Palestinians living in those territories.
The US was not pleased when the ICC opened in 2020 an investigation into alleged crimes by American forces in Afghanistan and in “CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) black sites” in Europe. That investigation, now dormant, had already prompted sanctions against former ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda.
On July 13, the Trump administration launched a “diplomatic campaign” against the ICC as an institution, led by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“As we speak, the ICC and its friends are waging war against our country,” Rubio said. “Not with bullets and missiles, but with statutes and compacts and the force of so-called international law.”
We will use “all the tools at our government’s disposal,” he added, “working beside every ally with whom we can make common cause.”
“We will dismantle the ICC,” he said.
The US says the ICC has “no jurisdiction over US persons — anywhere in the world.” It intends to persuade other nations to withdraw their support from the ICC under threat of cancellation of aid if they don’t.
Another tactic used by the US is imposing sanctions on ICC prosecutors and judges, like blocking credit cards, and blocking them from banking and online platforms. It’s like a “financial death penalty,” one official said. Even an international travel ban on ICC prosecutors and judges is being suggested. All these sanctions, just for doing their jobs.
In June 2026, sanctioned ICC judges Kimberly Prost of Canada, Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda, and Reine Alapini-Gansou of Benin filed a lawsuit in a Manhattan federal court against the Trump administration. They argued that the US executive orders are unlawful, abuse of national emergency powers, and exert illicit, extrajudicial pressure designed to coerce and punish judges for their independent judicial decisions.
We hope the rule of law will prevail everywhere./PN
