Canada backs International Criminal Court after U.S. imposes sanctions

OTTAWA — Canada signed a joint statement in support of the International Criminal Court after the United States moved to sanction the organization Friday.

Canada joined Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom in issuing the statement, which says they strongly disagree with the sanctions.

The statement says the signatories reaffirm their “continued and unwavering support for the independence, impartiality, and integrity of the ICC.”

It says if the sanctions take effect, they will “have a significant impact on the Court’s work, its dedicated staff and their families. They work every day to bring those accused of the most serious international crimes to justice and to support their victims.”

The sanctions cut the court off from U.S.-based financial services, technology companies and U.S. currency. They are part of a U.S. campaign to dismantle the tribunal in response to investigations into the United States and its allies, including Israel.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions Friday, calling the court “fake.”

“We will ban transactions with this rogue court, cutting off their resources and crippling their ability to operate against us,” he said in a video statement.

“Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC.”

He said he expects U.S. allies to “rein in this rogue court” — and if they don’t, “the United States will continue its campaign to dismantle the ICC piece by piece until Americans are threatened no longer.”

The sanctions were announced after the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to South African jurist Navi Pillay.

Pillay chaired a commission that last year concluded Israel was responsible for a genocide with a specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza.

The Trump administration has previously sanctioned ICC officials, including Canadian judge Kimberly Prost. Prost was sanctioned last year for authorizing an ICC investigation of the actions of U.S. personnel in Afghanistan.

The State Department also took action against ICC officials from France, Fiji and Senegal over the tribunal’s investigation of Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank.

Rubio said at the time the U.S. would “hold accountable those responsible for the ICC’s morally bankrupt and legally baseless actions against Americans and Israelis.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 9, 2026.

— With files from The Associated Press and Kelly Geraldine Malone

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press