The 2026 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is collectively awarded to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its officials.
Announcing the 2026 laureate in the hemicycle on Thursday, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola declared: “The European Union is built on respect for multilateralism and international institutions. With the award of the Sakharov prize to the International Criminal Court and its officials, the European Parliament recognises the Court’s important work in upholding international law and justice.”
The International Criminal Court (ICC) investigates and, where warranted, tries individuals charged with the gravest crimes of concern to the international community: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression.
The Court is a crucial actor in the global fight to end impunity, and through international criminal justice, it aims to hold those responsible accountable for their crimes and to help prevent these crimes from happening again. As a court of last resort, it seeks to complement national courts. Governed by an international treaty called the Rome Statute, the ICC is the world’s first permanent international criminal court.
The award highlights the ICC’s work, including investigations, prosecutions, trials and the issuance or authorisation of arrest warrants. See also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2026/08/13/four-us-human-rights-groups-sue-trump-administration-over-crippling-icc-sanctions/
In Parliament’s 2025 annual reports on the implementation of the common Foreign and Security Policy and on the human rights and democracy in the world, MEPs expressed their deep concern at the growing threats and the various waves of sanctions imposed since 2025 on the ICC, notably by the USA, as well as on its prosecutors, judges, staff and partners, considering these to be serious attacks on the international justice system.
MEPs have repeatedly called on the European Commission to activate the EU’s so-called ‘blocking statute’ to protect officials working at the ICC from extraterritorial attacks, and to enable it to continue its activities in complete independence. The blocking statute protects European operators, regardless of their size or sector of activity, by nullifying within the EU the effect of any foreign judicial decision based on foreign laws, also enabling them to seek compensation in court for damages caused by the extraterritorial application of foreign laws.
For more on this award, see: https://trueheroesfilms.com/equip/digest/?sort=most&laureate=13a10c16-6014-4132-8ed7-c4af3b1ef2a8
https://www.politico.eu/article/icc-wins-eu-parliaments-human-rights-prize
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