Further increasing tension between the U.S. and the UN ahead of this month’s UN General Assembly, scheduled to begin the UN’s 80th anniversary celebrations shortly, the U.S. State Department issued a media statement on September 4, 2025, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, announcing sanctions on three foreign Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) for supporting efforts by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel’s consent.
Rubio’s statement also made it clear that the United States, which like Israel is not a party to the ICC’s Rome Statute, plans to take additional measures to actively oppose “the ICC’s politicized agenda, overreach, and disregard for the sovereignty of the United States and that of our allies.”
The sanctioned human rights groups — Al Haq, the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights — had asked the ICC to investigate Israeli airstrikes in Gaza in 2023. For the NGOs affected, funding, partnerships with international bodies, and their ability to get support from U.S.-based or U.S.-funded organizations, as well as contracts and grants, may now be at risk.
Washington’s apparently defiant move runs counter to the current prevailing international atmosphere which is focused on sanctioning Israel, not those parties who invaded it in October 2023.
As expected, Washington’s announcement generated sharp responses from human rights groups, including Amnesty International, which termed it “a brazen attack on the entire Palestinian human rights movement.” The group Human Rights Watch even characterized the sanctioned NGOs as “widely respected Palestinian human rights groups.”
Last February, the U.S. sanctioned Karim Khan, the ICC’s former chief prosecutor, barring him from entering the country or doing business with the U.S., and in June, it ordered sanctions against four ICC judges involved in anti-Israel decisions and designated four more judges and prosecutors later in August. Also, over the summer Washington issued sanctions against former U.N. Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, who among other things called on the ICC to prosecute companies and corporate executives tied to the Israeli government.
A U.S. judge blocked enforcement of one part of Executive Order (EO) 14203 in July 2025, ruling that it potentially violates the First Amendment (free speech), because the order broadly penalizes providing services linked to ICC investigations, including speech-based services. This ruling suggests there are limits to how far the U.S. can go in using sanctions to block foreign advocacy or cooperation with ICC without running into constitutional issues.
Nevertheless, EO 14203 is cited as the legal basis for the latest (September 4) sanctions designations.
Begin text of U.S. statement:
Sanctioning Foreign NGOs Directly Engaged in ICC’s Illegitimate Targeting of Israel
“Today, I am designating three foreign NGOs — Al Haq, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights (Al Mezan), and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) — pursuant to Executive Order 14203, “Imposing Sanctions on the International Criminal Court.” These entities have directly engaged in efforts by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel’s consent.
This administration has been clear: the United States and Israel are not party to the Rome Statute and are therefore not subject to the ICC’s authority. We oppose the ICC’s politicized agenda, overreach, and disregard for the sovereignty of the United States and that of our allies. The ongoing actions of the ICC set a dangerous precedent for all nations and we will actively oppose actions that threaten our national interests and infringe on the sovereignty of the United States and our allies, including Israel.
The United States will continue to respond with significant and tangible consequences to protect our troops, our sovereignty, and our allies from the ICC’s disregard for sovereignty, and to punish entities that are complicit in its overreach.
All targets are being designated pursuant to Section 1(a)(ii)(A) of Executive Order (E.O.) 14203.”
Release date: September 4, 2025
