U.S. Sanctions ICC Judge Handling Duterte Case for Alleged Targeting of U.S. and Israeli Nationals

The United States has imposed sanctions on International Criminal Court (ICC) Judge Reine Alapini Gansou of Benin, one of three ICC judges handling the crimes against humanity case involving former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. The U.S. accuses Gansou of participating in efforts to investigate and target U.S. and Israeli nationals without their countries’ consent.

Gansou is among four ICC officials sanctioned under Executive Order No. 14203, a directive issued by former U.S. President Donald Trump. The other sanctioned judges are Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda, Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza of Peru, and Beti Hodler of Slovenia. All four are now temporarily barred from entering the United States, and any of their assets within U.S. jurisdiction are subject to seizure.

The U.S. government asserts that the ICC’s investigations into American and Israeli citizens—nations that are not parties to the Rome Statute—are illegitimate, politically motivated, and infringe on national sovereignty. Washington has reiterated that it does not recognize the ICC's authority over non-member states and views such actions as a threat to international legal norms.

As a result of the sanctions, all property and interests in property of the designated individuals located in the United States or controlled by U.S. persons are blocked. Entities that are 50 percent or more owned by one or more of these individuals are also affected. U.S. persons are prohibited from engaging in transactions involving these individuals or their assets unless authorized by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

The U.S. has called on other nations to reassess their support for the ICC in response to what it characterizes as an overreach of authority by the court.