U.S. Launches Campaign to Dismantle International Criminal Court

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a “whole‑of‑government” effort to neutralise the International Criminal Court (ICC), which he described as “an intolerable threat to U.S. sovereignty.” The strategy includes new sanctions, visa bans and travel restrictions on ICC officials, expanded financial penalties, and diplomatic pressure on the court’s 125 member states to withdraw their support. Rubio warned that the ICC is trying to become “an unaccountable global arbiter” that could prosecute U.S. military personnel, intelligence officers and elected officials. The United States, which never ratified the Rome Statute, has already imposed sanctions on ICC judges and prosecutors in previous years.

The European Union and the United Nations condemned the U.S. threats. An EU spokesperson said, “Attacks or threats against the court… are simply not acceptable,” while a UN spokesman called the ICC “a key piece of the international justice system.” Both organisations pledged diplomatic, legal and financial measures to maintain the court’s operations.

The clash marks an escalation of a long‑standing U.S. stance against the ICC and could affect the court’s ability to investigate war crimes, including recent arrest warrants for Israeli leaders. The dispute involves the United States, the ICC’s headquarters in The Hague (Netherlands), and a broad set of allied governments that receive U.S. security assistance.