International Criminal Court at The Hague flag, 23 July 2024.

U.S. Sanctions on Palestinian Human Rights Orgs Erode International Law

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined 79 organizations in an open letter expressing grave concern about the Trump administration’s imposition of sanctions on three prominent Palestinian human rights organizations due to their engagement with the International Criminal Court (ICC) and efforts investigating potential war crimes committed by the government of Israel in Gaza.

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October 16, 2025

As organizations committed to civil society and open civic space, we, the undersigned, are gravely concerned by the U.S. government’s (USG) decision to impose sanctions under Executive Order (EO) 14203 against three leading Palestinian human rights organizations— Al-Haq: Law in the Service of Man (Al-Haq), Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights (Al-Mezan), and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) — for engaging with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to seek investigations into war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza. These sanctions create a chilling effect on humanitarian and human rights work in Gaza and undermine the abilities of civil society actors to pursue accountability under international law.

They further threaten the civil society infrastructure in Gaza, hinder the documentation of human rights abuses, impede fact-finding missions, and deter legal cooperation with the ICC. If this suppression continues, accountability for the gravest international crimes will erode.

We join the Sept. 4 response of Volker Türk, Chief of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), who unequivocally called on the United States to “withdraw immediately these sanctions,” warning that they pose a dire threat to independent civil society organizations (CSOs) engaged in essential accountability work. These calls were echoed by civil society and legal organizations.

This escalation — from sanctioning ICC individuals to now targeting organizations and UN officials — infuses political reprisals into the international justice and accountability framework. It deters organizations worldwide from pursuing accountability due to the fear of retaliation, creating a chilling effect on humanitarian and human rights work, where protection is most needed.

We urge the USG to immediately rescind the sanctions against Al-Haq, Al-Mezan, and PCHR.

Signatories:

  1. A New Policy
  2. American Civil Liberties Union
  3. American Council for Judaism
  4. American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
  5. Amnesty International USA
  6. Ben and Jerry’s Foundation
  7. CAIR-WA (Council on American-Islamic Relations, Washington State Chapter)
  8. Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC)
  9. Center for Constitutional Rights
  10. Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR)
  11. Center for Jewish Nonviolence (CJNV)
  12. Charity & Security Network
  13. Churches for Middle East Peace
  14. CIDSE – International Family of Catholic Social Justice Organisations
  15. CIVICUS
  16. CODEPINK
  17. Confinium Strategies
  18. Decolonize Sudan
  19. Defence for Children International DCI
  20. Defending Rights & Dissent
  21. Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN)
  22. DIAKONIA
  23. Diana’s List
  24. Dominican Sisters of Sparkill
  25. Dorchester People for Peace (DPP)
  26. Ensaaf
  27. European Legal Support Center (ELSC)
  28. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
  29. Foundation for Middle East Peace
  30. Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL)
  31. Funding Freedom
  32. HEART to Grow
  33. Historians for Peace and Democracy (HPAD)
  34. Human Rights First
  35. Human Rights Funders Network (HRFN)
  36. Human Rights Watch (HRW)
  37. IfNotNow Movement
  38. Jewish Voice for Peace
  39. Just Foreign Policy
  40. Kenya Human Rights Commission
  41. KinderUSA
  42. Kolibri Foundation
  43. MADRE
  44. Maine Coalition for Palestine
  45. Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns (MOGC)
  46. Massachusetts Peace Action (MAPA)
  47. MedGlobal
  48. MENA Rights Group
  49. Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA)
  50. Middle East Democracy Center (MEDC)
  51. Minnesota Peace Project
  52. MPower Change Action Fund
  53. Muslim Civic Coalition
  54. Muslim Legal Fund of America (MLFA)
  55. Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)
  56. National Lawyers Guild – Bay Area Chapter
  57. Nonviolence International
  58. Oxfam America
  59. Palestine Legal
  60. Pax Christi International
  61. Peace Action
  62. Presbyterian Church (USA), Office of Public Witness
  63. Project South
  64. Rabbis for Ceasefire (R4C)
  65. Regenerative Economies Organizing Collaborative (REO)
  66. ReThinking Foreign Policy (RTFP)
  67. rochester, minnesota franciscan community
  68. RootsAction
  69. Sagner Family Foundation
  70. Statewatch
  71. Terre des hommes Italia (TDH IT)
  72. The Carter Center
  73. The Episcopal Church
  74. The Palestinian Assembly for Liberation (PAL)
  75. The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft (QI)
  76. United Against Inhumanity (UAI)
  77. United for Peace & Justice (UFPJ)
  78. Western States Legal Foundation (WSLF)
  79. World BEYOND War
  80. Zakat Foundation of America

Photo by Tony Webster – International Criminal Court Flag – The Hague, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.