Hypergio / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Archive ICC headquarters, 2016, resized
Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Sunday that Washington could take further action against the International Criminal Court, pressing allies to persuade the court to reject jurisdiction over Americans.
“If they want to avoid the actions we are going to take against the ICC, they should convince the ICC once and for all” to ensure American service members and leaders were not subjected to its jurisdiction, Rubio said during remarks to reporters, ahead of the G7 foreign ministers meeting in Paris.
Rubio said the United States would not accept the court asserting jurisdiction over American service members or leaders. He described that position as a dispute involving citizens of countries that had not joined the court’s treaty, and argued that the court should make changes to address U.S. objections.
He urged allies who wanted to avoid U.S. action against the ICC to persuade the court to make those changes. “They still have a chance,” he said, while warning that Washington would do what it considered necessary if its concerns were not addressed.
Rubio’s characterization of the court’s jurisdiction was the administration’s position. His remarks did not announce a court ruling resolving that legal dispute.
The secretary did not identify new sanctions targets, provide a sanctions list or set an effective date for action in the remarks. His warning left the form and timing of any further U.S. measures unspecified.
Rubio separately criticized the progress of talks with Iran during Sunday’s exchange with reporters, while saying the administration would explore a diplomatic opening if one emerged.
JBizNews Desk | Washington
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