United States President Donald Trump has called on all countries that are members of the International Criminal Court to withdraw from the institution, intensifying his administration’s criticism of the global tribunal.
Trump made the call on Tuesday while addressing the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York. “The United States is equally opposed to the out-of-control institution known as the International Criminal Court,” Trump said.
“I call on all nations that are members of the ICC to officially resign from this rogue institution immediately,” he added. The ICC, based in The Hague, prosecutes individuals accused of crimes including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The United States is not a member of the court and has never ratified the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC. Israel, Russia and China are also not members. Trump’s remarks come amid an escalating confrontation between his administration and the court.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has strongly criticised the ICC and described it as a threat to American sovereignty, while the Trump administration has imposed sanctions on ICC officials. Washington’s opposition has intensified following the court’s issuance of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a close US ally.
During his UN address, Trump said his administration would not accept the ICC exercising jurisdiction over US personnel. He said Washington would “never allow US service members or anyone else to be investigated or given show-trials by an anti-American tribunal with no jurisdiction over us.”
The Trump administration maintains that the ICC has no jurisdiction over the United States because Washington is not a party to the Rome Statute. The ICC’s jurisdiction, however, can extend in some circumstances to alleged crimes committed on the territory of member states even when the accused is a national of a country that is not an ICC member.
Trump’s latest remarks reinforce his administration’s broader campaign against the court, with Washington seeking to pressure the institution over investigations and prosecutions involving US personnel and officials of allied countries.