Uganda’s UN Envoy Warns of ICC Exit After US Sanctions
UGANDA · DIPLOMACY
Key Facts
- —What happened Uganda’s UN envoy says Uganda would quit if the court targets Ugandans.
- —The trigger The US Treasury blacklisted the court itself on Friday, 9 October.
- —Legal status A warning only; Uganda has filed no withdrawal notice.
- —The rule An exit takes effect one year after notifying the UN.
- —Uganda’s stake €52.4 million (about US$59 million) ordered for northern Ugandan war victims.
- —Still open Whether President Museveni and his cabinet formally back the warning.
Uganda handed the court its first state referral; now its UN envoy says it is ready to walk away.
Uganda’s UN ambassador has warned that Uganda could leave the International Criminal Court if the court ever investigates or indicts Ugandans. The envoy, Adonia Ayebare, spoke in a statement reported by Nile Post on Saturday, 10 October.
It followed a move by Washington on Friday, 9 October, to put the court itself on the US Treasury sanctions list. For US readers, it shows a US security partner’s envoy responding with sympathy to the sanctions campaign.
What Uganda’s Envoy Said
Ayebare is Uganda’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, the country’s most senior diplomat there. He answered the US announcement in a statement that Nile Post quoted on Saturday.
Nile Post quoted him: “Uganda will not hesitate to leave this increasingly rogue institution should it ever investigate or indict our people.” He said the court had “lost its way” by “exclusively targeting African officials.”
He said Kampala would keep pushing for reforms as a member of the ICC Bureau, the steering body of member states. Nile Post stressed that the statement is a warning, not a formal withdrawal notice.
The envoy did not name any current case that would trigger an exit. Nile Post noted that Ugandan judge Solomy Balungi Bossa has served on the court’s bench.
What Washington Did on Friday
On Friday, 9 October, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control added the International Criminal Court to its Specially Designated Nationals list. The listing names the court at its seat in The Hague, Netherlands.
The designation falls under the ICC sanctions programme based on Executive Order 14203, which President Donald Trump signed in February 2025. Until now, that order had been used against individual judges and prosecutors rather than the court as an institution.
The same day, the Treasury issued four general licences, numbered 13 to 16. Their titles cover certain transactions with the court, telecoms and enterprise software, pension payments and certain ICC detainees.
The State Department published a matching release titled “Imposing Sanctions on the International Criminal Court.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said: “Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC.” Nile Post and the Daily Monitor carried the quote.
The Daily Monitor, Uganda’s main independent daily, reported that the Treasury set an initial six-month grace period with some exemptions. It also cited the court calling the move an “assault on the rule of law.”
Why the Court Matters to Uganda
Uganda ratified the Rome Statute, the treaty that created the court, in June 2002. It then referred the case of the Lord’s Resistance Army, a rebel group in northern Uganda, to the court.
The court’s first-ever arrest warrants targeted that group’s leaders, including Joseph Kony, who remains at large. Former commander Dominic Ongwen was convicted in 2021 and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
On 28 February 2024, the court ordered €52,429,000 (about US$59 million) in reparations for Ongwen’s victims. Each of about 49,772 potentially eligible victims was to receive a symbolic €750 (about US$843).
That money flows through the court’s Trust Fund for Victims, which raises much of it from donors. On Friday the fund said the sanctions risk “inflicting harm on victims and affected communities around the world,” the Daily Monitor reported.
President Yoweri Museveni, in power since 1986, has criticised the court for years as biased against Africa. Ayebare’s warning turns that long-standing criticism into a direct response to US policy.
What It Means for US Readers
A listing on the Specially Designated Nationals list generally bars US persons and firms from dealing with the target. US banks, software suppliers and payment firms that serve the court now need a Treasury licence to keep doing so.
Uganda is a long-standing US security partner whose troops serve in the African Union mission in Somalia. The envoy’s remarks give the Trump administration an African voice for its argument that the court overreaches.
The United States is not a member of the court. Washington objects to ICC cases touching Americans and allies, including the arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Critics, including the court’s own Trust Fund for Victims, say the sanctions threaten justice for victims in places like northern Uganda. Investors with exposure to Uganda face no direct sanctions risk from the warning itself.
What Is Not Known
It is not known through which channel or at what hour Ayebare issued his statement. Nile Post did not say, and no text was found on an official Ugandan government site by Saturday evening.
It is also unclear whether President Museveni, the cabinet or Parliament endorse the warning. The full scope of the four Treasury licences and any wind-down dates were not set out on the Treasury’s summary page.
How the sanctions affect reparation payments to victims in northern Uganda has not been explained by the court or its Trust Fund.
What Comes Next
Under Article 127 of the Rome Statute, a withdrawal takes effect one year after written notice reaches the UN Secretary-General. Uganda would remain bound by obligations, such as cooperation in existing cases, until then.
The warning does not mean Uganda has left or will leave the court. Ayebare tied an exit to the court acting against Ugandans, which has not happened.
Frequently Asked Questions
Has Uganda left the International Criminal Court?
No. Its UN ambassador warned Uganda would leave if the court investigates or indicts Ugandans, but no formal notice has been filed.
What sanctions did the US impose on Friday?
On 9 October the US Treasury put the court itself on its Specially Designated Nationals list. It issued four general licences allowing certain limited transactions.
Who is Adonia Ayebare?
He is Uganda’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. He is the country’s top diplomat at the UN.
Why does the court matter to Uganda?
Uganda referred the Lord’s Resistance Army case to the court, which convicted commander Dominic Ongwen in 2021. The court ordered about US$59 million in reparations for his victims.
How long does leaving the court take?
A withdrawal takes effect one year after written notice reaches the UN Secretary-General. Existing obligations continue during that year.
Sources: US Treasury, OFAC recent actions, 9 October 2026; US State Department, “Imposing Sanctions on the International Criminal Court”; International Criminal Court, Ongwen reparations order; Nile Post; Daily Monitor (all accessed 10 October 2026). Conversions use exchange rates of 10 October 2026 (open.er-api.com).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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