RUBIO LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN TO DISMANTLE ICC, CITES SOVEREIGNTY

Marco Rubio, US secretary of state, announced a campaign on Monday to dismantle the International Criminal Court, stating the tribunal interferes with US military and law enforcement operations. Rubio claimed in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece that American border patrol agents and elected leaders risked being "dragged before an international court" and tried by foreign judges. He warned in an accompanying video that without action, US personnel would face prosecution for "defending their own country". The State Department plan involves pressuring other nations to withdraw from the court, according to reporting by CNN.

The campaign will employ financial and diplomatic pressure against countries that refuse to abandon the ICC. An unnamed State Department official told CNN that nations declining to reject the court's authority whilst receiving US assistance would face "increased scrutiny", with possible consequences including sanctions, travel bans and visa revocations. The ICC is headquartered in The Hague and operates under the Rome Statute, a 2002 treaty that permits the court to investigate crimes committed only in signatory states.

Three international legal experts disputed Rubio's characterisation of the tribunal's powers. Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch, stated the ICC does not claim jurisdiction over conduct within the United States. Roth argued that Rubio's position frames impunity for alleged American war crimes as a sovereignty issue, whilst overlooking the sovereign right of other nations to invoke ICC jurisdiction for crimes committed on their territory.