Ireland has joined 78 other countries in condemning the decision by US President Donald Trump to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court.
Tánaiste Simon Harris is believed to be deeply concerned by the overnight decision and has agreed to support the issuing of the statement.
It is understood that there are approximately 12 Irish nationals employed by the court.
"Such measures increase the risk of impunity for the most serious crimes and threaten to erode the international rule of law, which is crucial for promoting global order and security," said the joint statement, led by Slovenia, Luxembourg, Mexico, Sierra Leone and Vanuatu.
They were joined by dozens of other nations, including Britain, France, Germany, Canada and Brazil.
"Today, the Court is facing unprecedented challenges," the statement warned, after Mr Trump on Tuesday ordered asset freezes and travel bans against ICC officials, employees and their family members, along with anyone deemed to have helped the court's investigations.
"Sanctions could jeopardize the confidentiality of sensitive information and the safety of those involved, including victims, witnesses, and Court officials, many of whom are our nationals," it said.
"As strong supporters of the ICC, we regret any attempts to undermine the Court's independence, integrity and impartiality," it added.
Among those absent were Australia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Italy.
It comes after Mr Trump imposed sanctions on the ICC for "illegitimate and baseless" investigations targeting the US and its ally Israel, the White House has said.
Mr Trump signed an executive order saying the court in The Hague had "abused its power" by issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who held talks with the US president on Tuesday.
He ordered asset freezes and travel bans against ICC officials, employees and their family members, along with anyone deemed to have helped the court's investigations.
The names of the individuals were not immediately released, but previous US sanctions under Mr Trump had targeted the court's prosecutor.
The ICC condemned the sanctions and called on its 125 member states to support its staff.
Sanctions 'serious attacks' on international order
The president of the International Criminal Court hit out at the US sanctions, describing them as "serious attacks" against the global law-based order.
President Trump's order against the court was "the latest in a series of unprecedented and escalatory attacks aiming to undermine the Court's ability to administer justice", said Tomoko Akane in a statement.
"Such threats and coercive measures constitute serious attacks against the Court's States Parties, the rule of law based international order and millions of victims," she added.
"We firmly reject any attempt to influence the independence and the impartiality of the Court or to politicise our judicial function," said Ms Akane.
She said she had noted with "deep regret" Mr Trump's order and stressed that the ICC is "indispensable" given the atrocities being committed around the world.
Neither the United States nor Israel are members of the court.
But the Netherlands, the court's host country, said it "regrets" Mr Trump's sanctions order.
"The court's work is essential in the fight against impunity," Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said on social media.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a staunch ally of Donald Trump, said the sanctions showed it might be time to leave the ICC.
"It's time for Hungary to review what we're doing in an international organization that is under US sanctions! New winds are blowing in international politics. We call it the Trump-tornado," he said on X.
The sanctions are a show of support after Mr Netanyahu's visit to the White House, during which Mr Trump unveiled a plan for the United States to "take over" Gaza and move Palestinians to other Middle Eastern countries.
The UN and legal experts have said Mr Trump's plan would be illegal under international law.
Forcible displacement is also a crime under the ICC's governing Rome Statute.
Following a request by ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, judges issued arrest warrants on 21 November for Mr Netanyahu, his former defence minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas' military chief Mohammed Deif - who Israel says is dead.
The court said it had found "reasonable grounds" to believe Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant bore "criminal responsibility" for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare during the Gaza war, as well as the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.
Mr Netanyahu has accused the court of anti-Semitism.
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Sanctions could undermine court's operations, says judge
The ICC is a permanent court that can prosecute individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression against the territory of member states or by their nationals.
Mr Trump signed the executive order after US Senate Democrats last week blocked a Republican-led effort to pass legislation setting up a sanctions regime targeting the war crimes court.
The court has taken measures to shield staff from possible US sanctions, paying salaries three months in advance, as it braced for financial restrictions that could cripple the war crimes tribunal, sources told Reuters last month.
In December, the court's president, Judge Tomoko Akane, warned that sanctions would "rapidly undermine the court's operations in all situations and cases, and jeopardize its very existence".
During his first term, Mr Trump imposed financial sanctions and a visa ban on the ICC's then-prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, and other senior officials and staff in 2020.
Describing it as a "kangaroo court," his then-administration made the move after Ms Bensouda launched an investigation into allegations of war crimes against US soldiers in Afghanistan.
While his order at the time did not name Israel, Trump administration officials said they were also angered by Ms Bensouda's opening of a investigation into the situation in the Palestinian territories in 2019.
Former president Joe Biden lifted the sanctions soon after taking office in 2021.
Prosecutor Khan later effectively dropped the United States from the Afghan investigation and focused on the Taliban instead.
Mr Biden strongly condemned the "outrageous" warrant against Mr Netanyahu in November.
