The President of the United States, Donald Trump, publicly attacked the Norwegian Nobel Committee after the announcement of the awarding of the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to South African jurist Navi Pillay, held this Friday (9).
During a rally held in the city of Syracuse, in the state of New York, the Republican leader called the award “corrupt”, stated that the committee is made up of “radical ideologues” and accused Norway of harming the interests of the US government.
A few hours after the announcement of the award in Oslo, the White House ordered the imposition of a new package of economic sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC), a court based in The Hague, in the Netherlands, of which Pillay served as a judge between 2003 and 2008.
The punitive measures announced by the Treasury Department prohibit financial transactions and the provision of services by US companies to the court, affecting banks, insurance companies and technology companies.
During his speech to supporters, Trump claimed that he did not know the award-winning jurist before the ceremony, describing her as a “liberal person who works at the United Nations”, although he made a formal greeting. He then returned to defend his own candidacy for the award, arguing that he should have been awarded for his international performance.
“The United States of America, represented by me as its president, should have received the Nobel Peace Prize, but it did not,” Trump said. The American leader also accused the European country responsible for choosing the laureates of ignoring his diplomatic actions.
“Let’s not forget, Norway, that you didn’t give this award to someone who has the greatest record in history, with eight wars. The fact that you didn’t give the Nobel Peace Prize to the United States is just another sign of how Norway and all these others are cheating our country,” Trump said.
The committee responsible for choosing the Nobel Peace Prize is made up of five members appointed by the Norwegian Parliament, but is independent and operates without any connection with the Norwegian government’s guidelines.
Retaliation for investigations in Gaza
The diplomatic retaliation against the ICC was made official through a statement signed by the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. The head of Washington’s diplomacy classified the judicial institution as a “dishonest court” and stated that the measure aims to prevent any procedure that affects US authorities or citizens and those of partner nations.
“President Trump will never allow the International Criminal Court to prosecute American citizens. That is why, today, the United States is sanctioning the International Criminal Court. We will prohibit dealings with this rogue court, cutting off its resources and harming its ability to operate,” Rubio said in a statement.
In a video statement, the secretary raised his tone against the multilateral body: “Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC.”
The offensive takes place in the context of the Trump administration’s reaction to the precautionary measures adopted by the court against the government of Israel, the United States’ main military ally in the Middle East.
In November 2024, the ICC issued international arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Gaza Strip.
Nobel laureate Navi Pillay has a direct history of investigating military attacks on the Palestinian enclave. The South African chaired the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry into the Occupied Palestinian Territories, which formally concluded in 2025 that the State of Israel perpetrated genocide against the Palestinian population in Gaza and that members of the government leadership incited the actions.
International reaction
The ICC administration condemned Washington’s imposition of blockades. In a public statement, the court’s deputy prosecutor, Nazhat Shameem Khan, stated that the unilateral sanctions seek to intimidate multilateral jurisdiction, but will not interrupt ongoing processes and investigations.
“This is an attempt to obstruct the course of justice and prevent the Court from doing what it was created for. It is an attack on the Rule of Law and the very foundations of the international legal order”, the institution said in an official statement.
Diplomatic representatives of nations allied to the United States repudiated the White House’s decision. Foreign Ministers from Canada, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, Denmark and the Netherlands released a joint statement reaffirming their full commitment to the independent functioning of the court.
The European Commission also regretted the sanctions and stated that it will seek alternatives to guarantee the continuity of the body’s activities.
Speaking at the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg, Germany, where he was participating in a legal congress at the time of the announcement, Navi Pillay mocked the American leader’s statements. “If you applaud a little more, maybe I will share this award with Donald Trump,” said the South African jurist, in allusion to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who presented her 2025 Nobel medal to Trump at the White House.
In an emphatic tone, Pillay concluded by pointing out that world leaders have a legal obligation to submit to international law and condemned attacks made against the courts by governments that act as “rogue states”.
Source: www.brasildefato.com.br
