▲ U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio
The Donald Trump administration announced high-intensity sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the 9th (local time), stating that it expects cooperation from its allies.
While not naming any specific country, the administration used the expression "allies that rely on the U.S. military for defense."
This creates a direct confrontation as the U.S. launched a head-on attack against the ICC right after the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to a figure who dedicated their life to upholding international law, including a history of serving as an ICC judge.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the ICC sanctions via a video message on this day, stating, "We expect our allies, many of whom are members of the ICC and rely on U.S. military forces for their defense, to step up and help stop this rogue tribunal."
Rubio added, "If they fail to do so, the United States will continue its campaign to tear the ICC apart piece by piece until Americans are no longer threatened."
Secretary Rubio did not explicitly name the allies from whom the U.S. expects cooperation.
It is possible that he was targeting NATO member states with high involvement in the ICC or Japan, which makes substantial financial contributions to the ICC.
The ICC is a permanent international court established in 2002 under the Rome Statute to punish individuals who commit war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity. South Korea is also a state party to the Rome Statute.
The U.S. has not joined the ICC, arguing that the court attempts to prosecute U.S. service members for war crimes.
Emphasizing that both Republicans and Democrats oppose the ICC, but President Trump is the sole leader to take action, Rubio stressed, "The ICC will end its threats (against the U.S.) or we will end the ICC."
Under these U.S. sanctions, all assets of the ICC located within U.S. jurisdiction will be frozen.
U.S. companies and individuals must cut off dealings with the ICC within six months.
The U.S. sanctions on the ICC were announced shortly after news broke that Navi Pillay (85), an ad hoc judge at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Given that Pillay previously served as an ICC judge and President Trump has openly expressed a desire to win the Nobel Peace Prize, observations have been raised that the timing of the sanctions announcement may have been intentional.
The Associated Press reported that these sanction measures had been prepared well before the Nobel Peace Prize announcement.
However, regarding the timing of the announcement, the possibility that Pillay's award was taken into consideration cannot be ruled out.
It effectively amounts to the U.S. launching an aggressive response advocating for the dismantlement of the ICC right as the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to an individual who dedicated their life to defending international law, including service as an ICC judge.
The U.S. State Department previously declared its goal of the "systemic dismantling of the ICC" back in August when it sanctioned two top ICC officials, including President Tomoko Akane.
President Akane is Japanese.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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