Paivi Kaukoranta, the current president of the ICC's Assembly of States Parties, and seven former presidents issued a joint op-ed on Thursday condemning diplomatic efforts to isolate the International Criminal Court. ^[1] The Trump administration has sanctioned ICC judges and officials, including the court's president, and is pressing member countries to quit the institution. ^[2] The authors described the ICC as a court of last resort and rejected the argument that the court undermines state sovereignty, asserting that countries exercising sovereignty by joining international treaties are not surrendering it. ^[3] The leaders stated that efforts to isolate the ICC, such as encouraging States Parties to withdraw from the Rome Statute or urging non-States Parties to join measures to weaken it, aim at eroding confidence in the international legal order itself. ^[4] The statement argues that the International Criminal Court represents a collective decision by sovereign states to create rules for prosecuting genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression. ^[5] The op-ed authors stated that efforts to encourage States Parties to withdraw from the Rome Statute or urge non-States Parties to join measures intended to weaken the court are aimed at eroding not only one institution but confidence in the international legal order itself. ^[6]