Rubio Announces U.S. Is Imposing Sanctions on ‘Rogue’ International Criminal Court Intending to Cripple Its Operations

AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

The United States has issued stunning sanctions against the International Criminal Court in an admitted bid to “cripple” what it labeled a “rogue court.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions Friday, proclaiming, “President [Donald] Trump will never allow the International Criminal Court ⁠to prosecute Americans,” according to Reuters.

“That is why, today, the United States is sanctioning the International Criminal Court. We will ban transactions with this ​rogue court, cutting off their resources and crippling its ability to operate.”

The sanctions announcement came hours after Navi Pillay, who was a member of the court’s Appeals Chamber from 2003 to 2008, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.  

The court, which was created via treaty in 2002 and includes 125 members, quickly clapped back.

The sanctions are “an attempt to obstruct the course of justice and to prevent the Court from doing what it was created to do,” the ICC said in a statement.

“It is an assault on the rule of law and on the very foundations of the international legal order which strikes at the simple principle that no one stands above the law,” it continued.

ICC Judge Tomoko Akane issued a stark statement on X, calling on the court’s 125 state party members to stand up.

“The court calls upon states to continue taking concrete actions including to ensure that the court continues to have the necessary means to continue its work. This is just about defending a single institution, but about safeguarding the international order grounded upon the rule of law,” she said in the video.

“All of us must make a choice now between a world where might is right or  the future — based on the rule of law, where victims can continue to access justice. In the face of such attacks, we cannot remain indifferent. All of us, including state parties, have a legal and moral duty to act in defense of the international order. To stand up for law, not force. We’ll be judged by history for the choices we make today.

“I pledge to you that the international criminal court will continue it’s work undeterred with a firm resolve that justice must prevail,” she said.

The U.S. has already sanctioned some of the court’s prosecutors and judges.

The Trump administration has slammed the ICC for issuing arrest warrants for world leaders including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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