Marco Rubio calls International Criminal Court 'illegitimate'

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio launched a strong attack on the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday, calling it an "absolutely illegitimate" institution. He also praised several governments for their decisions to withdraw from the The Hague-based tribunal.

During a cabinet meeting at Camp David, Rubio questioned the ICC's jurisdiction to prosecute leaders and officials from states not party to the Rome Statute. His remarks followed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent visit to the U.S., against whom the ICC has issued an arrest warrant.

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We tried to promote reforms and asked them to listen to us, but they refused; they are very arrogant.

Rubio accused the court of inflexibility regarding reform requests from Washington. "We tried to promote reforms and asked them to listen to us, but they refused; they are very arrogant," he stated, warning that the administration would pursue an initiative to "really put that Court in its place."

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The International Criminal Court becomes illegitimate; even if you are not a member of that Court, they can go after you. And what this literally means for the future is that American military, political leaders, and other people could find themselves subject to a formal accusation by this International Criminal Court.

The Secretary of State argued that the U.S. stance on the ICC is not unique, citing Venezuela as an example of a country that has disassociated itself from the court's jurisdiction. He warned that the ICC's actions set a precedent for legal overreach on sovereign nations, potentially exposing U.S. military personnel and political leaders to accusations.

In a separate matter, Rubio highlighted a diplomatic meeting in Washington with delegations from over 60 nations focused on combating international terrorism and ideological radicalization. He expressed hope for consolidating a strong alliance to confront violent far-left extremism.

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We brought together 60 countries with the hope of creating a strong coalition to combat violent far-left terrorism, confront it directly, and call it by its name; I believe we will manage to consolidate a strong alliance in this regard.