Human rights groups sue US government over Hague court sanctions

Four US human rights organisations have sued the Trump administration over its sanctions against the International Criminal Court in The Hague, arguing the measures are unconstitutional and should be struck down.

The American Friends Service Committee, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Human Rights Watch and the Open Society Institute filed the complaint in New York on Tuesday.

It challenges the executive order signed by US president Donald Trump in February 2025, which authorised sanctions on court officials and on anyone assisting its investigations.

Washington has since used it against the court’s former chief prosecutor and two of his deputies, eight of its judges, a UN human rights expert and three Palestinian rights organisations.

The four organisations say the measures have forced them to drop work such as representing war crimes victims and making legal submissions to the court, in breach of their rights to free speech, association and religion under the US constitution.

They also argue the order exceeds the president’s powers and rests on a declared national emergency that has no basis in fact, describing it as a “blatantly illegal attack on international justice”.

Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch, said governments should step up to protect the court and those seeking justice before it.

The case follows Washington’s announcement in July of a campaign to dismantle the court, which the Netherlands hosts and has a duty as host state to protect.

Federal courts in New York and Maine ruled in 2025 that the order breached free speech protections, blocking enforcement against the claimants in those cases.