US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that the Trump administration is launching a diplomatic campaign to dismantle the International Criminal Court (ICC), arguing that the tribunal in The Hague poses a direct threat to US sovereignty and could ultimately be used against American officials, military personnel and law enforcement officers.
In an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, Mr Rubio said Washington would work with allies to counter the court's expanding jurisdiction and its attempts to prosecute citizens of countries that are not parties to its founding treaty.
“The US is launching a diplomatic campaign with a simple message – sovereign states over globalism,” Mr Rubio wrote. “Those who benefit from American security must not stand idly by while those who provide that security are targeted.”
“This is only the beginning,” he added. “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.”
The State Department said a wide range of options are under consideration, including travel bans, visa revocations, increased sanctions against the ICC and affiliated organisations and diplomatic pressure on other nations to pull out of the ICC.
The US is not a member of the ICC and has long rejected the court's jurisdiction over US nationals.
“Nations that partner with US law enforcement, host a US military presence, or benefit from the broader US security umbrella are being called upon to reject the ICC’s purported authority to prosecute American officials and servicemen,” a State Department official said in a statement. “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.”
'World tribunal'
Mr Rubio argued that the ICC had evolved beyond its original mandate and was seeking to override the authority of sovereign states.
“The ICC and its allies seek a standing world tribunal with near-unlimited reach, empowered to override the courts and constitutions of the US and other sovereign states and to prosecute and arrest our citizens,” he wrote.
He warned that US Border Patrol agents, military personnel and federal prosecutors could eventually face prosecution for carrying out their duties.
“It is only a matter of time before the ICC begins making good on these threats,” Mr Rubio wrote.
Calling the issue one of national sovereignty, Mr Rubio said the administration would continue resisting the court's authority.
“The Trump administration will always protect American service members from this threat,” he wrote. “To accept the ICC is to surrender control of our national destiny.”
Relations between President Donald Trump's administration and the ICC have been strained, with the US imposing sanctions on several court officials, including its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, over the tribunal's investigations into Israel, a close ally of the US.
In 2024, the court issued arrest warrants for the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli and Hamas leaders over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity stemming from the Gaza conflict.
“A wide range of options are available to ensure the ICC is completely and utterly incapable of threatening the US and our people,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said. “No diplomatic option will be off-limits in the campaign to dismantle the threat posed by the ICC to Americans.”
The UN voiced support for the ICC following the announcement by Mr Rubio.
“While the ICC is an organisation that is separate from the Secretariat and the UN, it remains for us a critical body in the international justice system,” said spokesman Stephane Dujarric. “It is supported by a vast number of member states, and it helps bring accountability.”
