Nobel Laureate Navi Pillay Calls U.S. Sanctions on the ICC ‘Unheard Of’ and ‘Unacceptable’

New Nobel Peace Prize laureate Navi Pillay has sharply condemned the United States’ sweeping sanctions against the International Criminal Court, calling the measures “unheard of” and “unacceptable” in her first public appearance since receiving the prize, according to TBS News.

Pillay, an 85-year-old South African jurist and former ICC judge, spoke via video link at an event hosted by the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo. She was named the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize laureate for her contributions to international law and peace, and hours after the announcement, the Trump administration unveiled sanctions targeting the court as an institution.

Pillay previously served as a judge on the ICC’s Appeals Chamber from 2003 to 2008 and later as the United Nations high commissioner for human rights. TBS News reports she warned that there is “so much tension and anxiety over the continued existence of international courts,” and expressed concern for the safety and security of the tribunal’s personnel.

Sanctions with a six-month grace period

The U.S. measures bar transactions with the court itself, restricting its access to American companies and financial services — a step that goes beyond the earlier sanctions Washington had already imposed on 17 individual ICC judges and officials, according to TBS News. The package includes a six-month grace period allowing ICC member states to continue funding the court’s operations while negotiating with Washington.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the sanctions were intended to “defend US sovereignty” against attempts to prosecute Americans, Reuters reported, adding: “President Trump will never allow the International Criminal Court to prosecute Americans. That is why, today, the United States is sanctioning the International Criminal Court. We will ban transactions with this rogue court, cutting off their resources and crippling its ability to operate.”

Washington cited its longstanding objections to a closed ICC investigation into U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan and to the court’s arrest warrants for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The move extends a campaign that began earlier in the administration against the court’s handling of cases involving the United States and its allies — sanctions that have drawn a rally of allied opposition to defend the tribunal.

Condemnation — and a rebuke of the prize itself

The court described the measures as an “assault on the rule of law,” while U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres called them a “serious blow” to global criminal justice, according to TBS News. Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands all issued statements expressing regret and strong disagreement with the sanctions.

President Donald Trump, for his part, criticized Pillay’s award itself, calling it “disgraceful and embarrassing” and “an indelible stain on the country of Norway.” Pillay answered with a joke, saying she might share her prize with Trump if the audience clapped more — a remark referring to Venezuela’s María Corina Machado, who gave her Nobel Peace Prize to Trump the previous year.

Pillay is South Africa’s fifth Nobel Peace Prize winner, following figures including Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Her career has included defending anti-apartheid activists and leading high-profile U.N. investigations into human rights violations in Rwanda, Myanmar and Gaza.

Reporting based on coverage by TBS News and Reuters.