The White House issued a severe rebuke to the International Criminal Court on Sept. 10 and threatened to retaliate if the supranational body’s personnel and abettors prosecute citizens of the United States or its allies.
In announcing the new policy toward the ICC, national security adviser John Bolton cited the court’s November 2017 request to prosecute American armed-service members and intelligence personnel for alleged war crimes committed during the conflict in Afghanistan.
The United States isn’t a party to the ICC, and Congress granted authority to U.S. presidents in 2002 to use any means necessary, including the use of force, to protect U.S. citizens from prosecution by the court. The court is nevertheless expected to soon announce its intention to prosecute Americans, according to Bolton.
“The United States will use any means necessary to protect our citizens and those of our allies from unjust prosecution by this illegitimate court,” Bolton said.
The national security adviser outlined a list of harsh retaliatory measures if the ICC decides to pursue prosecution: Court personnel would be banned from traveling to the United States, slapped with financial sanctions, and prosecuted by the Justice Department.
“We will not cooperate with the ICC. We will provide no assistance to the ICC. We will not join the ICC,” he added. “We will let the ICC die on its own. After all, for all intents and purposes, the ICC is already dead to us.”
The United States will enact a similar punishment on any company or state that assists the ICC. Under the new stance, countries that aid the court could see reductions in aid and intelligence sharing.
The ICC began operating in 2002 with the theoretical purpose of prosecuting war crimes and human-rights atrocities. But in practice, according to Bolton, the court’s biggest supporters have used it as a tool to constrain the United States.
Bolton also cited Palestinian attempts to start an ICC investigation of Israel, and linked the new policy toward the court with an order by the State Department to close the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s (PLO) office in Washington.
