European Union Honors ICC with 2026 Sakharov Human Rights Prize

The International Criminal Court has received the European Union’s 2026 Sakharov Prize, the bloc’s highest distinction for human rights work.

The award marks the tribunal’s second major international recognition this month and comes less than two weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump announced sanctions against the court.

Trump’s announcement came hours after former ICC judge Navi Pillay was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, a move widely viewed as a show of support for the embattled tribunal.

Based in The Hague, the ICC has long been a target of Trump, whose campaign against the court has intensified since it issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister last year.

Named after the late Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, the EU prize has been presented annually since 1988 to individuals and organisations defending human rights and fundamental freedoms.

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