The Trump administration’s sanctions (Executive Order 14,203) on the International Criminal Court (ICC) will lead to “direct, irreparable harm” to survivors of grave human rights abuses around the globe, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) argues in a new amicus brief filed at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in American Friends Service Committee et. al. v. Trump et. al.
Drawing on PHR’s documentation of war crimes and crimes against humanity and its past work with the ICC, PHR’s amicus brief spotlights atrocity crimes in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Myanmar, Ukraine, and Gaza to show how sanctions that undermine the ICC will impede access to healing, care, justice, and accountability for victims and survivors around the world.
“These sanctions do not simply target the ICC – they close off one of the few remaining paths to justice for survivors of some of the world’s gravest crimes,” said Gerson Smoger, JD, PhD, co-author of the brief and PHR board chair. “By deterring civil society organizations from sharing evidence and supporting ICC proceedings, the sanctions risk silencing survivors and weakening cases before they can ever reach a courtroom. For people who have endured sexual violence, attacks on health care, torture, and other atrocities, delayed justice can mean denied justice.”
President Trump issued Executive Order 14,203, titled “Imposing Sanctions on the International Criminal Court,” in February 2025. Four civil society organizations (American Friends Service Committee, Center for Constitutional Rights, Human Rights Watch, and Open Society Institute) brought a case challenging the Trump administration, with American Friends Service Committee v. Trump filed on August 11, 2026. On September 1, plaintiffs sought a preliminary injunction requesting the court block the Executive Order while the lawsuit proceeds. On Wednesday, PHR filed an amicus brief in support of granting the preliminary injunction citing the importance of the ICC for victims and how leaving the Executive Order in place undercuts the ICC’s ability to do its vital work.
“For survivors of atrocity crimes from DRC to Gaza to Myanmar to Ukraine, accountability is not an abstract legal principle – being heard, having harms officially recognized, and seeing perpetrators held responsible can be part of recovery and healing,” said Payal Shah, JD, counsel of record and PHR’s director of research, legal, and advocacy. “These sanctions interfere with that process by obstructing the investigators, advocates, clinicians, and civil society organizations that bring evidence and survivor testimony before the ICC. Every day that sanctions remain in place puts justice further out of reach for victims and survivors of grave crimes who have already waited far too long.”
PHR brings forward rigorous evidence and the voices of survivors from four contexts where the organization has worked extensively to document crimes and pursue accountability. The amicus makes the case that the sanctions limit access to justice and healing for communities such as:
- Victims and survivors of conflict-related sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Rohingya victims and survivors of violence, destruction, sexual violence, forced pregnancy, and mass forcible expulsion in Myanmar
- Victims and survivors of attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine
- Victims and survivors of attacks on health care and restrictions on humanitarian aid in Gaza
The text of PHR’s amicus brief argues that “the Executive Order attacks the rule of law and the ability of ICC judges and prosecutors to carry out their directives. In doing so, the Executive Order threatens access to justice for victims of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.” The amicus brief also notes that the Executive Order “creates a chilling effect that deters organizations that work to support victims and survivors, including PHR, to limit engagement with ICC to share critical evidence to ensure accountability, justice, and prevention of future violations.”
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has not yet scheduled arguments on whether to grant a preliminary injunction.
The amicus brief was authored by Kimberly Saltz, JD, Payal Shah, JD, and Gerson Smoger, JD, PhD.
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is a New York-based advocacy organization that uses science and medicine to prevent mass atrocities and severe human rights violations. Learn more here.