With a new attack on the ICC, the U.S. expands its assault on the rule of law
The International Criminal Court entrance
Craig Mokhiber writes in Mondoweiss on 15 July 2026:
On Monday [13 July 2026], U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the administration’s latest brazen attack on international law and the institutions mandated to uphold it.
Declaring “a sweeping campaign to dismantle the threat posed by the International Criminal Court,” Rubio promised a “whole-of-government response to systematically disable the ICC’s ability to operate.”
In language that would make Orwell blush, Rubio’s lawless statement claims that his campaign of intimidation and obstruction against the Court is meant to “disable the threat posed by the ICC to Americans.”
In essence, an administration that has been on a global rampage, perpetrating gross violations of human rights at home and abroad, is now seeking to claim that the international institutions set up to protect human rights (like the ICC), rather than the U.S. itself, are the real threats to human rights.
To achieve the administration’s nefarious ends, Rubio has promised pressure on states to withdraw from the ICC. That includes the intimidation (“increased scrutiny”) of states receiving U.S. aid that refuse to reject the ICC’s authority, visa revocations and travel bans for ICC personnel, and increased (unlawful) sanctions against the ICC and affiliated organizations.
In other words, the Trump administration, acting to protect another oppressive foreign regime engaged in genocide and apartheid, has publicly announced an illegal campaign to obstruct justice and, to that end, to persecute judges, court personnel, and cooperating witnesses and experts.