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US pressures African allies to withdraw from ICC, threatens ‘consequences’

August 5, 2026

US President Donald Trump’s government is pressuring African states to leave the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to sources close to the Hague cited in an exclusive report released by Le Monde on 4 August.

The US “is using two forms of leverage in its campaign. First, disinformation. They claim that authorities in targeted countries are themselves at risk of prosecution by the Court,” the sources said.

“Recently criticized by NGOs for its support to [Sudan’s RSF] … Chad reportedly felt vulnerable. However, the opening of such prosecutions is deemed ‘unlikely,’” they added.

The report goes on to say that the second method being used by Washington is to threaten states with the cancellation of security deals with the US.

According to Le Monde, multiple African member states of the ICC are being targeted by Washington.

“At the end of July, other African member states of the ICC received phone calls, visits and letters from the US. Uganda, for instance, received a letter on 24 July with an ultimatum telling [it] to leave [the Court] or face consequences,” one of the sources said.

Le Monde says Uganda has so far refused to capitulate.

The sources went on to tell the outlet that the west African state of Benin was approached in the same manner.

“Beninese authorities have shown their determination to resist pressure: ICC Judge Reine Alapini-Gansou, from Benin, is one of three magistrates who dared to file a complaint in New York in June against [US Secretary of State Marco] Rubio and Donald Trump to challenge the sanctions imposed on them by Washington,” Le Monde’s anonymous sources revealed.

The outlet writes that Trump and his government have been “waging war” against the ICC since it issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former war chief Yoav Gallant – both responsible for genocide against Palestinians.

In July, heavy US-Israeli diplomatic pressure resulted in Colombia withdrawing its participation in South Africa’s genocide case against Tel Aviv at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Nicaragua had already withdrawn from the ICJ genocide case against Israel in April last year.

The new report describes US pressure on African states as being a part of Trump’s campaign to dismantle the ICC and the international rules-based order, as it is referred to.

“We will dismantle the ICC – brick by brick, if necessary,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last month.

WATCH | Karim Khan, British lawyer and ICC Prosecutor, reacts to Marco Rubio's campaign to dismantle the ICC, saying “We are not going to be dissuaded by threats.”

“This court is the legacy of Nuremberg,” Khan said, adding that the protection of the individual is among the… pic.twitter.com/zPhFun884R

— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) July 15, 2026

The US and Israel are not parties to the Rome Statute and are therefore not members of the ICC, whose jurisdiction extends to genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.

The American Servicemembers’ Protection Act of 2002, nicknamed the “Hague Invasion Act,” authorizes a US president to use “all means necessary and appropriate” to free any US or allied personnel detained by the ICC.

Several ICC officials have been targeted by US sanctions.