U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced a sweeping campaign aimed at dismantling the International Criminal Court’s ability to investigate or prosecute American military personnel and government officials.The initiative, announced Monday, will involve a whole-of-government effort to restrict the court’s operations and pressure foreign governments to reject its authority over Americans.“For 250 years, Americans have governed ourselves as a free and sovereign people,” Rubio said in a video address.“We choose our own leaders, we determine our own laws, and when we’re accused of a crime, we stand for judgment before a jury of our own peers.”Rubio accused the court and its supporters of attempting to impose foreign authority on the United States without the consent of the American people.“As we speak, the ICC and its friends are waging a war against our country, not with bullets or missiles, but with statutes and compacts and the force of so-called international law,” he said.The ICC was established under the Rome Statute, which came into force in 2002..The United States is not a party to the treaty and has long rejected the court’s authority to prosecute American citizens.The State Department said the ICC previously opened an investigation involving allegations against U.S. military and intelligence personnel in Afghanistan and has refused to close those matters.“When the ICC was born 24 years ago, they told us that it was merely a narrow backstop, a global court that would step in to prosecute only the gravest offences, things like genocide and war crimes,” Rubio said.“But the truth is, it was something far more radical and extreme.”The ICC says its jurisdiction is limited to genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.It prosecutes individuals rather than governments and may claim jurisdiction when alleged crimes occur on the territory of a country that has accepted its authority, including when the accused is a citizen of a non-member country.The court says it complements national courts and generally acts only when domestic authorities are unwilling or unable to conduct genuine proceedings.Kenneth Roth, the former executive at the Human Rights Watch and a visiting professor at Princeton University, accused the administration of disregarding the sovereignty of countries that have accepted the court’s jurisdiction.“Trump declares war on the International Criminal Court,” Roth said.“He claims it is to preserve sovereignty, but the ICC operates only on territory where the national government has given it permission. Trump wants to override those governments’ sovereignty by claiming the right to commit war crimes on their territory with impunity.”Actions under consideration include diplomatic pressure on foreign governments to withdraw from the ICC, travel bans and visa revocations against court personnel and expanded sanctions against the court and affiliated organizations.Countries that benefit from American military protection, law-enforcement partnerships or other U.S. assistance will be urged to reject the ICC’s authority over Americans.The administration warned that countries refusing to do so could face increased scrutiny, particularly if they continue to rely on American assistance.“The American people never agreed to any of this, and they never will,” Rubio said.“This administration will not sit by as the ICC and its allies seek to threaten our people.”The State Department did not provide a timeline for introducing the measures.
