The International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague on April 21 ruled that Colombia must end its "interference" in parts of the Caribbean off the coast of Nicaragua, and bring under control fishing and other activities in the zone. This culminates a long conflict between Nicaragua and Colombia. In two rulings in 2007 and 2012, the ICJ recognized the sovereignty of Colombia in the islands constituting the Archipelago of San Andrés. However, the rulings also recognized the jurisdiction of Nicaragua in the surrounding waters. Colombia continued its activities in those waters, prompting Nicaragua to file a new complaint with the Court in 2013. Colombia argued that its actions were necessary to fight drug trafficking and secure environmental protection of the waters. In its new ruling, the ICJ found that these waters are within the exclusive economic zone of Nicaragua, and the "intervention" of another state is contrary to international law.

El Salvador's Legislative Assembly approved a state of emergency March 27 at the request of President Nayib Bukele, in response to a sharp increase in the number of killings by criminal gangs. The emergency regimen seeks to dismantle criminal structures by prohibiting associations and disrupting their communications. It also extends the "administrative detention" period, and suspends certain constitutional freedoms.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on March 14 announced that former militia leader Maxime Jeoffroy Eli Mokom Gawaka (Mokom), who is suspected to have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Central African Republic (CAR), has been surrendered by the Republic of Chad. A warrant for Mokom's arrest was issued in December 2018, when the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber II determined that Mokom was the "National Coordinator of Operations" for the Anti-Balaka militia. In this capacity, he is believed to have committed murder, deportation, imprisonment, torture, persecution and other crimes against humanity. He also allegedly committed war crimes by targeting civilians. 

UN agency chiefs on March 14 stated that war-torn Yemen's hunger crisis is "teetering on the edge of outright catastrophe," with more than 17.4 million Yemenis facing food insecurity and an additional 1.6 million expected to fall into emergency levels of hunger in the coming months. The number experiencing "catastrophic" levels of hunger is projected to increase five times from the current 31,000 to a staggering 161,000, taking the number of those with emergency needs to 7.3 million by the end of 2022. "These harrowing figures confirm that we are on a countdown to catastrophe in Yemen and we are almost out of time to avoid it. Unless we receive substantial new funding immediately, mass starvation and famine will follow. But if we act now, there is still a chance to avert imminent disaster and save millions," World Food Programme executive director David Beasley said.

The UN Human Rights Council (HRC) on March 4 adopted a resolution to establish an Independent International Commission of Inquiry to investigate charges of gross violations by Russian forces in Ukraine. After holding a moment of silence for Ukrainian victims, HRC members passed the resolution overwhelmingly, in a 32–2 vote. Among the 32 countries voting in favor of the resolution were France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Ukraine, the UK, and the US. The only two countries voting against were Russia and Eritrea. Several other countries, including Bolivia, Cameroon, China, and Cuba, abstained.

International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor Karim AA Khan announced Feb. 28 that he will open an investigation into the situation in Ukraine. In light of Ukraine's acceptance of the ICC's jurisdiction on an open-ended basis to address alleged crimes committed on its territory since 2014, Khan said the ICC may proceed despite Ukraine not being a state party to the Rome Statute. On reviewing the preliminary examination by the Office of the Prosecutor, Khan affirmed that there is a reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine.

Karim AA Khan, chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC), released a statement Feb. 25 on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, asserting the ICC's jurisdiction over "any act of genocide, crime against humanity or war crime committed within the territory of Ukraine." Khan recalled that Ukraine's parliament granted the ICC jurisdiction over such matters in 2015 when it passed a declaration addressing "crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by senior officials of the Russian Federation."

The European Union imposed new sanctions Feb. 21 on five Russian individuals involved in elections in the Crimean peninsula. The EU sanctions framework was established in March 2014, when Russian forces invaded and annexed the peninsula from Ukraine. At the time, the EU declared the move a "clear violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity by acts of aggression by the Russian armed forces." The new sanctions target five individuals responsible for election of members to represent the annexed peninsula in the Russian Duma. Three of the individuals are newly elected Duma representatives for the Crimean cty of Sevastopol. The other two are the head and deputy head of the Sevastopol electoral commission. The elections took place on Sept. 19, 2021.