Standing by the ICC — calling peace organisations to join civil society condemnation of US Sanctions

Permanent Premises of the International Criminal Court (c) UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

We are calling on others to join and renew their resolve to stand by the International Criminal Court in light of renewed reports in the Financial Times, Reuters and elsewhere that the Court may be the subject of further US sanctions (in addition to the February and June 2025 orders) this time potentially as an entity.

Rights for Peace proudly joined over 150 organisations condemning the threats of further US Sanctions against the Court in a statement on 22 September. Here is why this is an urgent stand — and how the peace community can also lean into supporting the ICC.

Why the ICC matters for peace

Many debates around the International Criminal Court focus on prosecution, deterrence, or geopolitics. From a peace perspective, we see three interwoven roles that make the ICC indispensable:

1. Accountability as deterrent and precedent

   In contexts of atrocity, impunity emboldens perpetrators, undermines trust in institutions, and perpetuates cycles of violence. The ICC is one of the critical mechanisms by which we affirm that no one is above the law — not even states or generals. Without that standard, any peace agreement risks leaving crimes unresolved and grievances festering.

   
   

2. Justice as recognition and empowerment for for survivors

   Peace is hollow if it ignores or erases harms. Survivors — and their communities — deserve recognition, redress, and the promise of a system that listens. An ICC unaffected by political coercion helps maintain that promise. Its existence gives voice to victims in spaces often dominated by power.

   
   

3. Structural constraints on power

   The ICC is not a panacea. But in a world where powerful states or non-state actors can act wantonly, international justice institutions can articulate international norms and impose constraints. When nations threaten to sanction or dismantle those institutions, the signal is clear: they believe themselves exempt. Upholding the ICC is, in effect, defending the norms that limit abuse in the first place.

A call to the peace community

We invite peace organisations, mediators, conflict transformation networks, faith groups, and civil society everywhere to:

• Speak out: Don’t leave international justice to human rights organisations alone. Peace practitioners should affirm that justice is part of durable peace.

• Connect justice, repair and development: Embed accountability in peacebuilding and development programs — in how we design transitional justice, reparations, memory, and institutional reform.

• Resist polarisation: Some critique the ICC as selective or biased. These criticisms deserve serious engagement — but are not reason for attacking an the Rome Statute system ratified by 125 countries.

The decision to sanction or undermine the ICC is not a distant legal dispute. It is a choice about what world we want — one where powerful actors are above accountability, or one where peace is grounded in justice. As Rights for Peace, we affirm our commitment: we will act, alongside others, not only to save the ICC, but to defend the deeper principle it represents — that peace without justice is unstable, and justice without peace is incomplete.

Click here to join REDRESS' open statment

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Photo credit: UN Photo/Rick Bajornas. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0