US President Donald Trump on Tuesday called the International Criminal Court “out of control” and urged all member countries to withdraw from the organisation.
“The United States is equally opposed to the out-of-control institution known as the International Criminal Court,” he said at the United Nations.
“I call on all nations that are members of the ICC to officially resign from this rogue institution immediately,” he added.
US President Donald Trump addressed the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City on Tuesday.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has described the International Criminal Court (ICC) as an “intolerable threat to US sovereignty” and vowed to destroy it “block by brick.”
The ICC prosecutes individuals accused of some of the world’s gravest crimes.
Washington imposed sanctions on several ICC officials after the court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a key US ally.
Trump said on Tuesday that Washington would “never allow US service members or anybody else to be probed or handed show-trials by an anti-American tribunal with no jurisdiction over us.”
The United States never ratified the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court (ICC), and does not belong to the court. China, Russia and Israel are also not ICC members.
Backstory…
Donald Trump’s call for countries to quit the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the United Nations General Assembly is the latest escalation in his administration’s campaign against the court.
The United States has never been a member of the ICC and has not ratified the Rome Statute that established it.
However, the Trump administration has increasingly sought to challenge the court’s authority, particularly over cases involving American personnel and Israeli officials.
The confrontation intensified after the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, in November 2024 over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Read Also: Presidency Confirms Tinubu’s Absence from 81st UN General Assembly
