US President Donald Trump has called on all countries that are members of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to withdraw from the institution, describing it as “out of control”.
Trump made the call on Tuesday while addressing the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
US President Donald Trump has called on all countries that are members of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to withdraw from the institution, describing it as “out of control”.
Trump made the call on Tuesday during his address to the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) 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 United States is not a member of the ICC and has never ratified the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the court. Israel, Russia and China are also not members.
The ICC prosecutes individuals accused of some of the world’s gravest crimes, including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Trump’s remarks come amid heightened tensions between Washington and the court. The United States has imposed sanctions on ICC officials following the court’s issuance of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a close US ally.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also vowed to dismantle the ICC, describing the court as an “intolerable threat to US sovereignty”.
Trump said Washington would not allow US service members or others to be investigated by what he described as an anti-American tribunal.
The ICC maintains that its jurisdiction is based on the Rome Statute and other legal grounds, including situations involving member states and cases referred to it under established procedures.
The United States’ opposition to the court has been longstanding, despite its participation in aspects of international justice and cooperation with the ICC on some matters.
The remarks were made during Trump’s wider UNGA address, which covered several international issues, including artificial intelligence, Iran and US foreign policy.
