U.S. Announces Comprehensive Countermeasures Against International Criminal Court, Claims Threat to Sovereignty

Central Message

(CNA, Washington, 13th – comprehensive international news report) The United States announced today a comprehensive campaign against the International Criminal Court (ICC), potentially including further sanctions, accusing the ICC of posing an 'intolerable threat' to U.S. sovereignty.

According to reports from AFP and Reuters, the Trump administration stated it will pressure other countries to withdraw from the ICC. This move significantly intensifies U.S. efforts to isolate the ICC, aiming to cut off its political and financial support.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated in a video message: 'The International Criminal Court and its allies are waging war on our nation—not with bullets or missiles, but with laws, agreements, and the supposed force of international law.'

The U.S. State Department declared that this action will 'systematically undermine the ICC’s operational capabilities, preventing it from targeting U.S. military personnel or officials, or threatening U.S. sovereignty in any other way.'

An unnamed State Department official told AFP that while the U.S. has previously sanctioned certain court officials deemed threatening to U.S. interests, this new 'whole-of-government' effort will further pressure other nations to 'withdraw from the International Criminal Court and cut off all financial support to the court.'

Shortly after former President Trump returned to the White House in February last year, U.S. authorities froze the assets of several ICC officials and imposed travel bans, following the ICC's issuance of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his conduct in the Gaza war.

However, today the State Department shifted focus to the ICC posing an 'intolerable threat' to U.S. sovereignty, stating the court 'claims the authority to prosecute and even imprison U.S. military personnel and officials acting in the national interest.'

The State Department stated: 'Americans have never consented to this. Since the ICC’s founding, every U.S. president has maintained that the ICC lacks jurisdiction over Americans.'

A State Department official added that the U.S. will 'closely monitor which countries stand with us,' warning that 'nations dependent on U.S. assistance that refuse to reject the ICC’s false authority may face stricter scrutiny.'

ICC spokesperson Oriane Maillet stated that the court will not comment on the matter at this stage.

Japan’s Jiji Press reported that Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara expressed 'concern and close monitoring' during a press conference today regarding Rubio’s call for treaty members to exit the ICC.

Kihara emphasized that Japan, based on its commitment to combating serious crimes and upholding the rule of law, 'consistently supports the ICC.' He also stated Japan will cooperate with other member states while closely observing future U.S. actions.

Japan’s Asahi Shimbun reported that the ICC, established in 2002, is an international judicial body safeguarding the 'rule of law' by prosecuting war crimes and other grave offenses. It is currently led by ICC President Judge Tomoko Akane, the first Japanese national to hold this position since the court’s founding. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met with Akane and others at the Prime Minister’s Office in January this year, confirming cooperation to strengthen the rule of law. (Translation: Chang Ming-Hsuan, Yang Wei-Ching) 1150714