Zeynep ConkarThe United States has blacklisted three of the most prominent Palestinian human rights organisations, claiming that their cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its war crimes investigation against Israel merits punishment.
On Thursday, the US Department of the Treasury added Al-Haq, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), and Al-Mezan Centre for Human Rights to its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List – a sanctions tool usually used against those deemed to be ‘terrorists’, drug traffickers, or national security threats.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the decision, stating the sanctions were imposed because the groups had “directly engaged in efforts by the International Criminal Court to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel’s consent.”
But Rubio’s reasoning has no basis in international law.
Under the Rome Statute, civil society organisations are entitled to submit evidence to the ICC, and the Court’s jurisdiction over crimes in Gaza and the occupied West Bank comes from Palestine’s status as a State Party since 2015, not from Israel’s approval. The United States itself is not a party to the Rome Statute, which explains its longstanding hostility to the Court whenever it probes alleged crimes by Washington or its allies.
“The US decree is unprecedented in its attempt to silence voices documenting and monitoring the situation on the ground,” says Issam Younis, the Executive Director of Al-Mezan.
“Their aim is clear: to stop us from advocating for human rights and ensuring accountability, but we will never stop our mission,” Younis told TRT World during a press briefing on Friday.
Decades of documentation
The sanctioned groups are some of the most respected legal and advocacy bodies in Palestine, whose work is recognised well beyond its borders.
For decades, they have gathered the testimonies, forensic data, and legal submissions that prosecutors rely on to allege war crimes and genocide in Gaza.
Without their efforts, many victims would have little chance of seeing their experiences formally acknowledged in court.
Al-Haq, founded in Ramallah in 1979, is one of the oldest Palestinian human rights groups.
It has been at the forefront of documenting abuses in the occupied West Bank and has pursued litigation in European courts against companies and officials complicit in Israeli violations.
Israel has repeatedly tried to silence the group, branding it a “terrorist organisation” in 2021 and raiding its offices the following year — a move that the UN, EU, and international NGOs rejected, saying Israel had presented no credible evidence.
“By standing up against Israel’s colonial regime, we are defending not only Palestinian victims but also human values and the principles of international law for victims everywhere,” says Shawan Jabareen, the Executive Director of Al-Haq.
“Our work is legal, peaceful, and essential. We will continue cooperating with the ICC and any mechanism that provides justice, freedom, dignity, and equality to our people on their land,” Jabareen told TRT World.
In Gaza, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) has become a leading authority on detailed casualty records, field investigations, and forensic documentation of Israel’s repeated wars.
Alongside it, Al-Mezan Centre for Human Rights has focused on monitoring the humanitarian toll of the blockade and military assaults that have devastated daily life in the besieged enclave.
Together, these groups have rigorously compiled witness testimonies, medical files, forensic evidence, and casualty data.
Much of this material has been submitted to the ICC and cited in proceedings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Their work has underpinned the cases that led to the ICC issuing arrest warrants earlier this year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. While these warrants mark a historic first, they are only enforceable if ICC member states cooperate, meaning much depends on political will.
“Defending human rights and justice is our mission, and it will never stop, no matter the pressure from states complicit in these crimes,” says Jabareen.
“Accountability is central to ending impunity. We call on all states to take political, economic, and other measures to stop this ongoing genocide,” Jabareen adds.
Criminalising accountability
This is not the first time Washington has wielded sanctions to undermine international legal mechanisms.
Whenever the international courts have turned their gaze toward US conduct or that of Israel, Washington has responded with coercive measures.
Under Trump, this campaign escalated dramatically.
Former ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and her staff were personally sanctioned for investigating US war crimes in Afghanistan and Israeli crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Bensouda later revealed that Mossad officials had threatened her directly, warning of consequences for her and her family if she pursued those cases.
That pressure has only deepened. Earlier this year, the Trump administration sanctioned the Court itself and current Prosecutor Karim Khan, branding their work as “baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel.”
By August, the sanctions list had expanded to four more ICC officials, including Judge Nicolas Guillou, who had authorised arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant.
Palestinian institutions have similarly been targeted. The prisoners’ rights group Addameer was sanctioned in June; in July, the measures were widened to the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organisation.
In the same month, Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, also became a target.
“Palestinian civil society has long been subjected to campaigns aimed at delegitimising and defunding human rights organisations. The moment accountability becomes central to our agenda, we face punishment, and now this decree escalates that campaign,” says Younis.
“This is a testament that we are doing the right work. We are committed to enforcing international law, bringing criminals to justice, and defending the rights of all people, regardless of religion, political opinion, race, or gender,” Younis explains.
A joint condemnation
The sanctions quickly drew sharp criticism from across the human rights community. The three targeted organisations issued a joint statement denouncing what they described as “draconian sanctions.”
“These sanctions, at a time of live genocide against our people, are heinous acts by states with complete disregard for international law and our shared humanity,” the groups said.
The Centre for Constitutional Rights (CCR) echoed that outrage, calling the move part of a broader US campaign to silence Palestinian advocacy.
“We condemn in the strongest terms the State Department’s escalation of its attacks on Palestinian human rights organisations today,” CCR said.“
At the height of Israel’s US-backed genocide against the Palestinian people, the Trump administration has cynically chosen to punish the advocates leading the charge for accountability. This attack cements the United States government’s complicity in Israel’s crimes.”
