Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a sweeping campaign designed to dismantle the threat posed by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to United States sovereignty. The initiative involves a whole-of-government response intended to systematically disable the ability of the ICC to operate or target American officials and servicemen.
According to the State Department, the ICC represents an intolerable threat to U.S. sovereignty because it claims authority to prosecute and imprison Americans operating in the national interest. The department noted that while previous presidents maintained the ICC lacks jurisdiction over Americans, the court has previously opened investigations into U.S. intelligence officers and servicemen and has declined to close those cases.
The campaign seeks to prevent the ICC from acting as a supranational enforcement arm of a globalist bureaucracy. The State Department stated that no diplomatic option will be off-limits in efforts to dismantle this threat.
Proposed actions under consideration include diplomatic calls from senior leadership to foreign nations to highlight ICC abuses and urge withdrawal from the court. The department also called upon nations that benefit from the U.S. security umbrella or partner with American military and law enforcement to reject the purported authority of the ICC.
Further measures being considered involve increased scrutiny of nations that rely on U.S. assistance but refuse to reject the ICC's authority. Additionally, the campaign may include visa revocations and travel bans for ICC personnel, as well as increased sanctions against the ICC and its affiliated organizations.
The State Department also intends to urge nations that are not party to the Rome Statute to use their diplomatic networks to take similar actions alongside the United States. A video message regarding this action was made available on the Department of State's YouTube channel.
