US launches campaign to dismantle International Criminal Court over sovereignty threat
The Trump administration has launched a comprehensive campaign to dismantle the International Criminal Court (ICC), citing threats to American sovereignty. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the campaign on Monday, July 14, 2026, marking a sharp escalation in the US effort to isolate the Hague-based institution.
The campaign includes sanctions and other measures aimed at undermining the ICC. In a video posted on X and a lengthy op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, Rubio vowed to "dismantle" the court, claiming it posed "an intolerable threat to US sovereignty." The State Department said in a statement that the campaign will "systematically disable the ICC's ability to operate, target American servicemen or officials, or otherwise threaten American sovereignty."
The US has previously targeted individual court officials it deems a threat to US interests, but the new "whole of government" campaign will pressure other nations "to withdraw from the ICC and cut off any financial support to the court," according to a State Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The ICC, headquartered in The Hague, can only investigate crimes committed in states that are party to the Rome statute, the 2002 treaty that established the ICC. The United States has not ratified the treaty, nor has the court opened investigations into crimes committed on American soil.
Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch, described Rubio’s remarks as a mischaracterization of the tribunal’s powers. "The ICC is not claiming jurisdiction over conduct in the United States," Roth said. "Rubio is dressing up his quest for impunity for American war crimes under the label of national sovereignty, which ignores the sovereign right of other nations to invoke the ICC for crimes committed on their territory."
The Trump administration has previously supported ICC investigations into Russian war crimes in Ukraine, which is a signatory to the Rome statute. However, the administration has criticized the ICC for issuing arrest warrants for Israeli officials over alleged war crimes in Palestine.
The campaign includes increased scrutiny of nations that refuse to reject the ICC’s authority while relying on US assistance. Possible punishments could involve sanctions, travel bans, and visa revocations.
Rubio's op-ed in the Wall Street Journal and his video on X emphasized the threat to American servicemen and officials. "If we stand idle, all of them will be at the mercy of foreign judges, thousands of miles away – facing the constant risk of prosecution and even imprisonment for the so-called ‘crime’ of defending their own country," Rubio warned.
The State Department's statement added that the ICC "claims the authority to prosecute and even imprison American servicemen and officials operating on behalf of America's national interest." The statement also noted that "Americans never signed up for this, and all American presidents since the ICC's ratification have maintained that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over Americans."
The campaign to dismantle the ICC marks a significant escalation in the US's efforts to isolate the court and protect American sovereignty. The administration's actions and statements indicate a determined effort to undermine the ICC's authority and influence.
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