Trump administration targets International Criminal Court with sanctions, travel limits and diplomatic pressure

Rubio says US will dismantle ICC 'brick by brick'

Rubio says US will dismantle ICC 'brick by brick' Submitted by MEE staff on Mon, 07/13/2026 - 18:59 Secretary of State issues broadside against the court that issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2024 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a trilateral meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun (not pictured) on the sidelines of the Nato Summit in Ankara, on 7 July 2026 (Yves Herman/Pool/AFP) Off US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the Trump administration is working to “dismantle the [International Criminal Court] brick by brick”, throwing down a public gauntlet to the court that issued an arrest warrant in 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “The ICC’s interfering with American military and law enforcement operations isn’t just only a grave overreach of its purported authorities. It would mean the death of the US as a sovereign and independent nation,” Rubio wrote in an opinion article published by The Wall Street Journal on Monday. "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," he said.  Rubio also filmed a monologue on the issue, which was released on X on Monday, in which he accused the court of trying to take away Americans' rights to abide by their own laws and stand in front of a jury of their peers when accused of committing a crime.  "But today powerful people in far away places want to take that away from us. They believe that they should be in charge of your laws, of your country, your life - and they don't care whether or not you agree," he said in the video. He said that Americans likely don't know the names of the judges, prosecutors or presidents of the international court, and that they "shouldn't have to", while accusing the ICC of waging a war against the US. Rubio’s criticism noted “bipartisan” opposition to the court, which was founded in 2002 in response to genocides and atrocities in war zones such as Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. Notably, Rubio made no direct mention of the outstanding arrest warrant issued for Netanyahu and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, for their alleged crimes against humanity in Gaza, where over 73,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023. The court also issued warrants for Hamas leaders for alleged war crimes that happened during the 7 October 2023 attack on southern Israel. They were subsequently assassinated by Israel. 'Smug globalists' Rubio pitched the White House’s decision to destroy the court in nationalist terms.   "The US is launching a diplomatic campaign with a simple message - sovereign states over globalism," he said.  Exclusive: UK government lawyer warned ICC bureau its Khan disciplinary process 'unlawful' Read More » “Our forefathers fought a revolution against a foreign power transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences," Rubio said, noting a 200-year-old British colonial policy. “Independence is our birthright. We don’t intend to trade it for rule by a self-appointed priesthood of ‘international law’.” Rubio noted a 2020 investigation by the ICC into US soldiers for alleged war crimes in Afghanistan. He said that the court could eventually investigate US Border Patrol agents and Marines. “The ICC is backed and run by a powerful network of leftist nongovernment organizations, smug globalists, and hostile Third World governments united by their enmity toward the US,” he said. In his video on X, he said that while the court was created ostensibly to prosecute the gravest of crimes in countries where their own courts couldn't prosecute them, the "truth is it was something far more radical and extreme: It was a global tribunal staffed by globalist unelected bureaucrats who claim their power is almost unlimited". In reality, the court has 125 member countries, including all the members of the European Union. The countries most hostile to the court have long been the world’s major powers, which do not want to submit to its jurisdiction. The US’s main geopolitical foes, Russia and China, are not members of the ICC. In 2002, President George W Bush formally withdrew and passed the American Servicemembers’ Protection Act (ASPA), which restricted US cooperation with the ICC. ASPA even authorises the use of force to free detained US personnel, earning it the nickname, the "Hague Invasion Act". Washington also pressured countries into signing bilateral immunity agreements to prevent them from surrendering US nationals to the ICC. Diplomatic war Rubio’s broadside against the court will confirm views that the US and its closest partners are waging a diplomatic war on it because of its efforts to hold Israel to account for war crimes in Gaza, which has been deemed a genocide by the United Nations, human rights bodies and genocide scholars.  US President Donald Trump signed an executive order last year sanctioning ICC judges over investigations into top Israeli officials. The measures have affected the judges' freedom of movement, their physical security, their families and their ability to carry out basic daily transactions, MEE reported previously. MEE has also reported exclusively on a campaign waged against the court by former UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron.  ICC deputy prosecutor says ‘breakthrough’ achieved in Darfur investigation Read More » MEE revealed that Cameron privately threatened Karim Khan, the British chief prosecutor at the ICC, in April 2024, to defund and withdraw from the ICC if it issued arrest warrants for Israeli leaders. The US played a role in the early development of the ICC and signed the Rome Statute in 2000 under the presidency of Bill Clinton. But it was never submitted to the Senate for ratification amid fears that the ICC could prosecute US military personnel and officials for alleged war crimes, especially in conflicts like Afghanistan and Iraq.  The ICC has also issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for alleged war crimes in Ukraine. Rubio issued a dire warning at the end of his video monologue. "This administration will not sit by as the ICC and its allies seek to threaten our people. If they believe they can deprive us of our sovereignty, we will teach them the full meaning of American resolve." ICC arrest warrants News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

7 hours ago

Rubio lashes out at International Criminal Court, accuses it of 'waging war' against US

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday accused the International Criminal Court (ICC) of threatening American sovereignty and “waging a war” against the country. “The ICC and its friends are waging a war against our country — not with bullets or missiles but with statutes, compacts and the force of so-called ‘international law’“. He further said the court had “become the unaccountable arbiter of a new global law — empowered to prosecute and arrest our citizens at will”. Rubio described the court as “far more radical and extreme” than it had initially promised to be, saying it was “staffed by unelected globalist bureaucrats who claim their power is almost unlimited”. “The danger of this global court has only continued to grow.” “The American people never agreed to any of this,” he said. “And they never will.” Rubio’s remarks come after the Trump administration launched an effort to dismantle what it describes as the threat posed by the ICC to US sovereignty, according to a State Department official. President Donald Trump and other US officials, 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. Reuters earlier this year found the Trump administration backed sanctions against ICC officials in part to head off any future attempts to hold him or his officials accountable for US military action overseas. The State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a wide range of options is under consideration to target the ICC, including travel bans, visa revocations, increased sanctions against the ICC and affiliated organisations, and diplomatic pressure on other nations to withdraw from the ICC. The ICC was established in 2002 by the international community to prosecute war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. It asserts jurisdiction only if a member state is unable or unwilling to prosecute atrocities itself. The US has never been a member of the court. Trump’s hostility toward the court goes back to his first term. It manifested again with a plan to punish ICC officials, an idea hatched in November 2024 when Trump was re-elected and the ICC issued an arrest warrant for his ally, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. Last month, three International Criminal Court judges sued Trump and his administration over sanctions imposed on them last year, arguing the measures were unlawful. The State Department official on Monday said Rubio and other top US officials are pressuring other countries as part of a campaign “to diplomatically isolate the International Criminal Court and ensure it cannot target Americans”. In March 2020, ICC prosecutors opened an investigation in Afghanistan that included looking into possible crimes by US troops, but since 2021, it has deprioritised the role of the US and focused on alleged crimes committed by the Afghan government and Taliban forces. The official said 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 ICCs purported authority to prosecute American officials and servicemen”. Nations that refuse to reject the ICC while relying on US assistance are likely to come under increased scrutiny, the official said. “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,” the official said. The Hague Invasion Act The US enacted a federal law in 2002, named the American Service-Members’ Protection Act (ASPA), with the intention to “protect United States military personnel and other elected and appointed officials of the United States government against criminal prosecution by an international criminal court to which the United States is not party”. Also known as the Hague Invasion Act, the act authorises the US president to use “all means necessary and appropriate to bring about the release of any person … being detained or imprisoned by, on behalf of, or at the request of” the ICC. Alongside prohibiting cooperation with the court, the bill also prohibits participation by members of the US armed forces in certain operations of the United Nations, “unless the president certifies that US national interests justify such participation or that the members are not at risk of ICC prosecution”.

8 hours ago

Trump administration launches effort to isolate International Criminal Court

The Trump administration is launching an effort to dismantle what it calls the threat to United States sovereignty by the International Criminal Court (ICC), a State Department official said on Monday. President Donald Trump and other US officials, 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. Reuters earlier this year found the Trump administration backed sanctions against ICC officials in part to head off any future attempts to hold him or his officials accountable for US military action overseas. The State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a wide range of options is under consideration to target the ICC, including travel bans, visa revocations, increased sanctions against the ICC and affiliated organisations, and diplomatic pressure on other nations to withdraw from the ICC. The ICC was established in 2002 by the international community to prosecute war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. It asserts jurisdiction only if a member state is unable or unwilling to prosecute atrocities itself. The US has never been a member of the court. Trump’s hostility toward the court goes back to his first term. It manifested again with a plan to punish ICC officials, an idea hatched in November 2024 when Trump was re-elected and the ICC issued an arrest warrant for his ally, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. Last month, three International Criminal Court judges sued Trump and his administration over sanctions imposed on them last year, arguing the measures were unlawful. The State Department official on Monday said Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other top US officials are pressuring other countries as part of a campaign “to diplomatically isolate the International Criminal Court and ensure it cannot target Americans”. In March 2020, ICC prosecutors opened an investigation in Afghanistan that included looking into possible crimes by US troops, but since 2021, it has deprioritised the role of the US and focused on alleged crimes committed by the Afghan government and Taliban forces. The official said 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 ICCs purported authority to prosecute American officials and servicemen”. Nations that refuse to reject the ICC while relying on US assistance are likely to come under increased scrutiny, the official said. “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,” the official said. Rubio, in a video on his official X account, accused the ICC of seeking to “become the unaccountable arbiter of a new global law — empowered to prosecute and arrest our citizens at will and existentially threaten American sovereignty”. He termed the court “far more radical and extreme” than it had initially promised to be, saying it was “staffed by unelected globalist bureaucrats who claim their power is almost unlimited”. “The American people never agreed to any of this,” he said. “And they never will.” The Hague Invasion Act The US enacted a federal law in 2002, named the American Service-Members’ Protection Act (ASPA), with the intention to “protect United States military personnel and other elected and appointed officials of the United States government against criminal prosecution by an international criminal court to which the United States is not party”. Also known as the Hague Invasion Act, the act authorises the US president to use “all means necessary and appropriate to bring about the release of any person … being detained or imprisoned by, on behalf of, or at the request of” the ICC. Alongside prohibiting cooperation with the court, the bill also prohibits participation by members of the US armed forces in certain operations of the United Nations, “unless the president certifies that US national interests justify such participation or that the members are not at risk of ICC prosecution”.

9 hours ago