The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, urged the United States on Wednesday to lift the sanctions announced the day before against the president of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Tomoko Akane, measures that he described as "unacceptable."
"The new unacceptable sanctions imposed by the United States against the president of the ICC and a member of the Prosecutor's Office must be lifted," the agency stated on social media regarding the decision made by the Trump Administration against the Japanese magistrate and Senegalese lawyer Abdoulaye Seye for their role in the investigations initiated by the court for war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip.
Turk reiterated his call for states to "come to the defense of the institutions they themselves have created to uphold Human Rights and the rule of law," as well as to "protect" those affected by these "reprisals" from Washington.
On the other hand, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, expressed his "deep concern" over the sanctions communicated against Akane and Seye, which also extend to other members of the ICC: eight judges, two deputy prosecutors, and former chief prosecutor Karim Jan.
The Portuguese diplomat "deeply respects the work" of this court and considers it "a fundamental pillar of international criminal justice," his spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, stated in a brief communiqué.
The US Department of the Treasury included Akane and Seye on its "blacklist" on Tuesday for having "directly participated in the ICC's initiatives to investigate, detain, imprison, or prosecute officials" of governments that have not ratified the Rome Statute, according to the State Department.
The ICC issued arrest warrants in November 2024 against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the former Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, for the alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the context of the military offensive launched more than a year earlier on the Gaza Strip.