The Trump administration presented on Monday a campaign and fresh effort aimed at dismantling what it called the International Criminal Court's (ICC) "threat" to U.S. sovereignty, including possible new sanctions, visa restrictions and diplomatic pressure on allies.
In a statement, the State Department said the campaign would employ a "whole-of-government response to systematically disable the ICC’s ability to operate, target American servicemen or officials, or otherwise threaten American sovereignty."
The statement argued that the court has claimed authority to prosecute Americans despite Washington never ratifying the Rome Statute, and said past U.S. administrations have rejected the court's jurisdiction over American citizens.
"The ICC previously opened an investigation into U.S. servicemen and intelligence officers and has since refused to close these cases,” it added.
In an opinion article published Monday in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration would "dismantle the ICC-brick by brick, if necessary," arguing the court had evolved into a supranational body seeking to override the authority of sovereign states.
The ICC issued arrest warrants in November 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas leader Ibrahim al-Masri over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza.
The court also opened an investigation in March 2020 into potential crimes by U.S. troops in Afghanistan. While the ICC has deprioritized that probe since 2021, it has not formally closed the case.
Last year, Washington imposed sanctions on 11 ICC officials, including nine judges and the court’s chief prosecutor, including asset freezes and travel bans.
