Photo: Alamy
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Monday that the Trump administration is launching a diplomatic campaign to weaken the International Criminal Court, escalating a dispute between Washington and the court over U.S. sanctions.
The announcement follows a lawsuit filed last month in federal court in New York by three ICC judges, who argue that sanctions imposed by the Trump administration last year are unlawful.
Established under the Rome Statute in 2002, the International Criminal Court prosecutes cases involving allegations of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
“The International Criminal Court seeks to become the unaccountable arbiter of a new global law — empowered to prosecute and arrest our citizens at will and existentially threaten American sovereignty,” Rubio posted to social media. “We will teach the ICC the full meaning of American resolve.”
In a Wall Street Journal opinion article and a video posted on social media, Rubio accused the court of being controlled by “globalist bureaucrats.”
“The U.S. is launching a diplomatic campaign with a simple message, sovereign states over globalism,” Rubio wrote. “Using all the tools at our government’s disposal, working beside every ally with whom we can make common cause, we will dismantle the ICC, brick by brick, if necessary.”
Rubio also described the court as being “backed and run by a powerful network of leftist nongovernment organizations, smug globalists, and hostile Third World governments united by their enmity toward the U.S.”
According to Reuters, a State Department official said the administration is considering a range of measures, including expanded sanctions, travel restrictions, visa revocations and diplomatic efforts to encourage other countries to withdraw from the court.
The dispute intensified after the Trump administration imposed sanctions on the ICC following the court’s decision last year to issue arrest warrants for several Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in connection with the war against Hamas.
The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, and does not recognize the court’s jurisdiction over U.S. citizens or officials.
