International Criminal Court

An Israeli army soldier walks past a main battle tank stationed at a position near the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel on April 30.

World News

How Israel's military investigates itself in cases of possible wrongdoing

5:15am May 15, 2024

by Rob Schmitz

Since last October, complaints have included Israeli soldiers firing on unarmed Palestinian refugees and the killing of World Central Kitchen aid workers when Israeli drones fired on their convoy.

Palestinian militants fire rockets into Israel from Gaza Strip, Oct. 7.

World News

What is a war crime, and who gets held accountable? Here's what you need to know

2:30pm October 20, 2023

by Scott Neuman

The conflict between Israel and Hamas has led to accusations of war crimes on both sides, as combatants are bound by international humanitarian law to minimize the impact on civilians.

The headquarters of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands

World News

Families of victims await justice as the ICC reopens Philippines drug war probe

5:01am April 22, 2023

by Ashley Westerman

An International Criminal Court investigation puts President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in a tough spot. His vice president is the daughter of the leader who launched the drug war at the heart of the probe.

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China's leader Xi Jinping claps as he listens to Russian President Vladimir Putin via a video link, from the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Dec. 2, 2019. Xi will meet Putin this week on a visit to Moscow.

Latest on Ukraine: Xi Jinping visits Moscow to meet Putin (March 20)

9:36am March 20, 2023

by NPR Staff

Catch up on key developments and the latest in-depth coverage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks to a regional governor via videoconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia, on Oct. 21, 2022. The International Criminal Court said Friday it has issued an arrest warrant for Putin and his children's rights commissioner for possible war crimes.

World News

The International Criminal Court issues an arrest warrant for Putin

7:32pm March 17, 2023

by International Desk

The ICC has issued warrants for the Russian president and his children's rights commissioner for alleged war crimes involving accusations that Russia has forcibly taken Ukrainian children.

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In this July 17, 2021, file photo, candles lit by journalists in New Delhi pay tribute to photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, who was killed in Afghanistan covering clashes between the Taliban and Afghan security forces.

World News

Family of killed photojournalist Danish Siddiqui take Taliban leaders to ICC

7:14am March 23, 2022

by Robert Griffiths

The family of Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, killed during a Taliban attack in Afghanistan last year, are seeking legal action at the International Criminal Court

The draft defines ecocide as "unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts."

How 165 Words Could Make Mass Environmental Destruction An International Crime

8:00am June 27, 2021

by Josie Fischels

A panel of lawyers from around the world proposes to make ecocide a crime that can be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court just like genocide and war crimes.

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci announces his resignation Thursday in the Kosovo capital of Pristina. He said he was stepping down to face war crimes charges in The Hague.

World News

Kosovo's President Steps Down To Face War Crimes Charges

2:19pm November 05, 2020

Hashim Thaci, a senior guerrilla commander during the Kosovo war in the late 1990s, said he had a confirmed indictment from a special court in The Hague.

International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, seen here in 2018, has been added to the U.S. Treasury's sanctions list. She is leading the court's investigation into alleged U.S. war crimes in Afghanistan.

Trump Administration Sanctions ICC Prosecutor Investigating Alleged U.S. War Crimes

6:27pm September 02, 2020

by Laurel Wamsley

The International Criminal Court has been looking into allegations of torture by the U.S. in Afghanistan. The U.S. is not a member of the court though its allies the UK and France are.

A trio of judges oversees a trial in 2017 at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands.

Trump Greenlights Sanctions Against International Criminal Court Investigators

7:21pm June 11, 2020

by Colin Dwyer

The ICC recently announced it was looking into war crimes allegations against the U.S. in Afghanistan. Now, the Trump administration is pushing back with an executive order targeting ICC staff.