The Trump administration is launching an effort to dismantle potential threat to U.S. sovereignty by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The State Department “campaign” was announced in a news release on Monday, accompanied by a video statement from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal.
Key takeaways:
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that the administration will work to dismantle the court “brick by brick, if necessary,” asserting that the ICC has overreached its mandate by claiming the authority to prosecute citizens of non-member states, like the United States and Israel.
According to the State Department, the administration is employing a comprehensive pressure campaign designed to disable the court’s ability to operate.
This multi-pronged effort includes, “Sanctions & Visa Bans, Leveraging U.S. Security Alliances, and Diplomatic Isolation.”
According to Reuters, President Donald Trump and others in Washington, such as former President George W. Bush, have long said the ICC should not have the authority to investigate and prosecute Americans, particularly members of the military.
In his video statement, Rubio upped the rhetorical temperature, accusing the court of “waging a war against our country, not with bullets or missiles, but with statues, compacts, and the force of so-called international law”.
“Today, it threatens every aspect of our political and legal system,” he said. “If they believe they can deprive us of our sovereignty, we will teach them the full meaning of American resolve.”
The announcement included few concrete steps, but listed several “actions under consideration”.
They included an appeal to countries that partner with the US military and law enforcement to “reject the ICC’s purported authority to prosecute American officials and servicemen”.
It also listed “increased scrutiny of nations that refuse to reject the ICC’s false authority while relying on US assistance”, as well as “increased sanctions” and travel bans for ICC personnel and affiliated organizations.
Why it matters?
The United States is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, the founding charter that created the court in 2002, and is therefore not subject to its jurisdiction.
However, US citizens can be investigated and potentially prosecuted as part of probes of abuses in countries that are party to the charter, ICC officials have determined.
As reported, Trump administration backed sanctions against ICC officials in part to head off any future attempts to hold the Republican president or his officials accountable for U.S. military action overseas.
In a video message posted on Monday, Rubio said the ICC was initially intended to prosecute only the gravest offenses, but had turned out to be “something far more radical and extreme,” adding that the Trump administration would not allow the court to threaten U.S. personnel.
“No diplomatic option will be off-limits in the campaign to dismantle the threat posed by the ICC to Americans,” the State Department said in a statement.
The official said nations that partner with U.S. law enforcement, host a U.S. military presence, or benefit from the broader U.S. security umbrella “are being called upon to reject the ICC’s purported authority to prosecute American officials and servicemen.”
Notably, nations that refuse to reject the ICC while relying on U.S. assistance are likely to come under increased scrutiny, the official said.
The state department further pointed, “We will watch with interest which nations join ranks with us against this threat to Americans who are willing to risk their lives to protect others.”
