US launches campaign to dismantle ICC to protect 'American sovereignty'

The US announced a campaign Monday aimed at dismantling what the Trump administration described as a threat by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to US sovereignty, including possible new sanctions, visa restrictions and diplomatic pressure on allies.

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 US administrations have rejected the court's jurisdiction over American citizens.

“The ICC previously opened an investigation into US 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, US 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 US 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.

In his op-ed, Rubio accused the ICC of being "backed and run by a powerful network of leftist nongovernment organizations, smug globalists, and hostile Third World governments."

His op-ed singled out Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), a Washington-based rights group, over a March letter urging Iran, Israel and Gulf countries to accept ICC jurisdiction over war crimes committed during the war.

DAWN rejected Rubio's characterization, saying its letter had called for accountability for all parties "with no exceptions," not solely US conduct in Iran.

"Rubio's mischaracterization of our call to investigate all possible war crimes carried out in the war – focusing solely on the US' actions in Iran – begs the question: is the Secretary of State worried because he knows US personnel committed war crimes in Iran?" DAWN Executive Director Omar Shakir said in a statement.

DAWN's Advocacy Director Raed Jarrar said the campaign targets "the rules-based international order," while the group's Israel-Palestine Director, Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man, said DAWN would pursue legal action against the administration this week.