The European Union has firmly rejected the Trump administration's claims that the International Criminal Court (ICC) poses a threat to US sovereignty, following a US announcement that it would work to systematically disable the Hague-based tribunal. Anouar El Anouni, an EU spokesperson, stated on Tuesday: 'We stand firm in our support for the international criminal court. Attacks or threats against the court, elected officials, personnel or those cooperating with the court are simply not acceptable.'
EU Defends ICC's Role in Global Justice
El Anouni highlighted the ICC's role in prosecuting perpetrators of the world's gravest crimes, including genocide and war crimes. He emphasized: 'Let's also recall that the ICC does not target sovereign states, nor does it constitute a threat to their sovereignty.' Instead, he noted, the court 'exercises jurisdiction over individuals, perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community.'
The EU's remarks come a day after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a campaign to dismantle the ICC. In a video, Rubio claimed the court 'threatens every aspect of our political and legal system,' and in an op-ed, he invoked images of US border patrol agents and elected leaders being 'dragged before an international court' and tried by judges from around the world.
US Escalation Against ICC
Since Donald Trump returned to power last year, his administration has steadily targeted the ICC. Eleven officials, including the chief prosecutor and eight judges, have been placed under US sanctions, leaving them with cancelled credit cards, Amazon and Google accounts, and US travel bans. Monday's announcement marked a dramatic escalation, with the US State Department stating that the campaign would include pressuring other nations to withdraw from the ICC and increased scrutiny of countries that refuse while relying on US assistance.
Countries that could be affected include Ukraine, where the ICC launched an investigation in 2022 into possible war crimes following Russia's invasion. Legal experts described Rubio's remarks as a mischaracterisation of the tribunal's powers. The ICC can investigate alleged crimes committed in countries that have signed up to it, or crimes committed by their citizens. It can also investigate cases referred by the UN Security Council or where a non-signatory country agrees to let it act. However, the court only steps in when a country cannot or will not investigate the crimes itself. The US has not signed up to the ICC, and about 100 countries have signed agreements with the US to refrain from surrendering Americans to the court.
Experts Question US Motives
Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch, said: 'The ICC is not claiming jurisdiction over conduct in the United States. 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.' A former senior US government sanctions official suggested the Trump administration was looking to curtail possible investigations into its actions, stating: 'It gives you the sense that this is a pre-emptive campaign against any action the ICC might be considering vis-a-vis Venezuela or elsewhere abroad.'
This sense was reinforced by Rubio, who cited calls from activists for the court to prosecute the Trump administration for actions such as the deportation of migrants or US strikes on boats claimed to be carrying narcotics. Roth went further, saying: 'Trump wants to be able to commit war crimes on the territory of countries that have accepted the court's jurisdiction – that's what this is about.'
