Click to expand Image

When the world emerged from the horrors of World War II and vowed “never again,” nations laid the foundation for the system of international justice that now exists to address the planet’s worst crimes. Today, the United States is actively trying to dismantle it.

The Trump administration on Sept. 4 imposedsanctions on three leading Palestinian human rights organizations:Al Haq, founded in 1979 and a pioneer in documenting violations in occupied Gaza and the West Bank;Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, which for more than two decades has meticulously chronicledlaws of war violations in Gaza; and thePalestinian Center for Human Rights, which has long provided legal aid to victims, particularly from Gaza.

In June, the Trump administration imposedsanctions on another leading Palestinian rights group,Addameer, under a different set of measures.

This is part of a broader Trump administration effort aimed at those who support justice for Palestinians. Thestated reason for the September sanctions was that the three groups had helped the International Criminal Court in its investigation of Israel “without Israel’s consent.” But the U.S. government has also gone after officials of the court, which has taken on an investigation that covers allegations of grave crimes by Israeli forces in Gaza; it has issuedarrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and former defense minister Yoav Gallant,accusing them ofcrimes against humanity andwar crimes. The administration has placedsanctions on the I.C.C. prosecutor, deputy prosecutors and six of the court’s judges, as well asFrancesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Gaza and the West Bank.

Beyond what has been done to the Palestinians, the Trump administration has undermined the rule of law, protection of human rights and international justice, which all lie at the heart of a rules-based global order. The administration has slashed funding to the United Nations andthreatened more cuts while disengaging from the U.N. Human Rights Council. It abruptlyterminated nearly all U.S. foreign aid, which had supported human rights defenders and provided lifesaving humanitarian assistance around the world. Cuts to grants by the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor and offices on refugees, women and global justice further downgraded America’s commitment to human rights.

Al Haq, Al Mezan and the Palestinian Center areaward-winning organizations that in extraordinarily difficult circumstances have exposed violations of human rights and environmental law byIsraeli andPalestinian authorities, armed groups and businesses. They are the voice of Palestinian victims, amplifying stories of injustice that would otherwise remain unheard.

The groups have continued their courageous work in Gaza over nearly two years. Al Mezan and the Palestinian Center are based in Gaza, and Al Haq, based in Ramallah in the West Bank, has staff there as well. They have faced bombardment that has resulted in thekillings or wounding of staff members and hundreds of their relatives as well as starvation and forced displacement. On Sept. 7, Israeli bombingsflattened the high-rise building that housed the Palestinian Center’s headquarters. The offices of Al Mezan across Gaza were damaged anddestroyed in 2024.

The U.S. sanctions will not only disrupt the critical work that they are still able to do but also send a chilling signal to human rights defenders whose work implicates powerful actors or their allies. The Palestinian groups have been vocal in their support of the I.C.C.’s investigation into Israeli conduct and have made submissions to the court’s prosecutor.

Our organizations, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have worked closely with these groups for decades and, consistent with our longstanding and independent mandates to speak out in protecting human rights, we can attest that their work is indispensable to the human rights community not only in the region but internationally.

This work is part of a broad global movement advancing justice for victims and survivors of the human rights abuses. A credible system of international justice that addresses genocide,war crimes andcrimes against humanity is an essential element of building respect for human rights.

TheInternational Criminal Court is a central pillar of this system. Created through atreaty in 1998, the court is a forum oflast resort. Governments intended to deliver on the post-World War II promise of “never again” by establishing such a permanent institution. The system is not perfect, but its capacity to seek to hold accountable even those in the highest positions of power can help end cycles of abuses. This power of the law is now at risk.

Further sanctions or other actions by the United States, including extending sanctionsto the court as a whole, would jeopardize the rights of victims across the globe. Governments should rise to the occasion to protect the system they created.

When Israeldesignated leading Palestinian human rights groups including Addameer and Al Haq as “terrorist organizations” in 2021, nine European Union member statesrejected the allegations as unsubstantiated. That pushback was likely a major reason Israel did not go further.

So far, other governments have carefully balanced theirreactions to the U.S. sanctions for fear of provoking the Trump administration. This is a flawed strategy and out of step with the urgency the situation demands.

Governments need to condemn efforts to undermine the I.C.C.’s independence and to silence those who are documenting abuses. They should use regional and national laws, like theEuropean Union Blocking Statute, which can be employed to nullify external laws in the union, to mitigate the impact of U.S. sanctions on those working with the court. Those who helped establish the international court and claim to uphold the values underpinning it must step up to defend them.

1. November 24, 2025 Dispatches

   US State Department Debases Human Rights Diplomacy

   
2. November 25, 2019 Report

   A Dirty Investment

   
3. November 21, 2025 Dispatches

   Alarm Bells Go Off on Ethiopia

   
4. October 29, 2025 News Release

   South Korea: Census to Count Same-Sex Couples

   
5. September 8, 2016 News Release

   Nepal: Child Marriage Threatens Girls’ Futures