In an endless sea of decrees at the beginning of his term, Trump decided to pay the Netherlands some attention with his latest executive order.
He has imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
The second time’s the charm
The sanctions include financial penalties and visa restrictions for anyone who helps the ICC investigate US citizens or allies.
Apparently, ‘allies’ in this case include Israel since the US government opposed the ICC’s issue of an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Israel’s former Minister of Defense Gallant.
Sanctions against the ICC were already proposed by the Republican senate majority, but Democratic senators blocked them.
However, Trump has stepped in with an executive order and imposed the sanctions anyway.
“The very existence of the court is at stake”
The ICC saw this coming, paying out salaries three months in advance in preparation for the sanctions.
The Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Veldkamp has expressed his opposition on X.
The Netherlands regrets the executive order imposing sanctions on the ICC. The court's work is essential in the fight against impunity. Our country has a strong reputation and responsibility as a host country of important international legal institutions. 1/2— Caspar Veldkamp (@ministerBZ) February 6, 2025
Likewise, the court’s president, Judge Tomoko Akane, has labelled the sanctions as undermining “the work of the ICC” and putting “the very existence of the court at stake.”
How extreme is this?
On the other hand, the measure isn’t as extreme as it sounds if we’re familiar with the USA’s history with the ICC.
Neither the states nor Israel are members of the court, and the court’s operations are usually not supported by Democrat or Republican governments alike.
The prohibition of US cooperation with the ICC is even laid out in a bill that can justify a military attack of The Hague if a US citizen is detained there, giving it the nickname ‘The Hague Invasion Act’.
The court also faced US sanctions in 2020. During his first term, Trump sanctioned the ICC Chief Prosecutor for investigating possible US war crimes in Afghanistan.
The Dutch correspondent to the US, Sjoerd den Daas, comments on these sanctions in a statement to the NOS:
“[Trump] wants to send a clear signal. Do not dare to interfere with the interests of America or our allies.”
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America is a dictatorship now.