The United States on Monday announced the launch of a campaign against the International Criminal Court (ICC), a long-standing adversary of Washington based in The Hague. The US accuses the ICC of “waging war” against the country and “threatening” Americans, pledging to impose new sanctions.
“Right now, the ICC and its allies are waging war against our country, not with bullets or missiles, but with statutes, treaties, and the force of so-called ‘international law,'” said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. He made this statement via a video message on the X platform, an article in the Wall Street Journal, and a communiqué.
According to Rubio, the threat posed by this international court is continually increasing. “Today, it threatens all aspects of our political and legal system,” the Secretary of State continued. He warned that if the US remains inactive, “we will all be at the mercy of foreign judges located thousands of kilometers away, under constant risk of being held accountable or even imprisoned for the so-called crime of defending our own country.”
Sanctions against ICC judges
Relations between the Trump administration and the ICC are extremely tense, with several of the court’s judges, as well as the ICC prosecutor, already under sanctions. These restrictions prohibit them from entering the United States and block any real estate or financial transactions with them in the US.
The imposition of these sanctions is linked to ICC investigations into Israel, a US ally. In particular, in 2024, the Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Role and jurisdiction of the ICC
ICC judges apply international law within their jurisdiction. Established in 2002, the Court investigates the most serious international crimes, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Neither Israel nor the United States has joined the international treaty that established the ICC, nor has Russia, whose president Vladimir Putin has been under an ICC arrest warrant since March 2023.
Source: Libération
