US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday took aim at what he saw as a “weaponization of international law”, calling it a tool of the elite, and issued a stern warning to the International Criminal Court.
Rubio warned the ICC against “citing laws to men with swords,” accusing the Hague-based court of trying to enforce rules that Washington does not recognize.
His remarks to the Federalist Society’s National Lawyers Convention come about a month after the United States announced new sanctions against the ICC, promising to cripple its operations.
The Court prosecutes individuals accused of the most serious atrocities and acts as a last resort when countries lack adequate legal systems to ensure accountability.
The United States signed the Rome Statute establishing the ICC but never ratified the treaty. Israel, Russia and China are also not members of the ICC.
Rubio’s opening speech to the conservative group, where he received a standing ovation, marks his first major speech in the United States since the Republican Party’s massive defeat in the midterm elections earlier this month.
Rubio said Friday that international law had been invoked against “almost every major foreign policy decision” of the Trump administration, from boat strikes in the Caribbean to the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
He claimed that such a law was not neutral, but an “instrument” for the global elite to promote its interests.
The top US diplomat previously said Washington would ban dealings with what he called a “rogue court”, intensifying US President Donald Trump’s administration’s long-running campaign against the ICC.
Washington has vowed to dismantle the court, angered by the fact that the judges issued an arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged crimes in Gaza during Israel’s war with Hamas, as well as an earlier investigation into the actions of American soldiers in Afghanistan.
Rubio renewed his criticism of the ICC on Friday, calling it accountable to no one, despite being “armed with the power to investigate, prosecute, persecute and imprison our citizens, according to laws that we neither consent to nor control.”
He added: “If they are stupid enough to try to impose their paper decrees on the Americans, our response will probably be the same as that of the Roman general Pompey when he told those who tried to invoke the charters of their city against his legions. »
“He said, ‘Stop citing laws to men with swords.’ »
The location of Rubio’s remarks, a gathering of the legal profession, could reinforce speculation that he is looking beyond his foreign policy portfolio. Former presidential candidates also spoke at the conference.
Rubio is widely seen as a possible successor to Trump, although he has dismissed reports that he is considering leaving the administration to prepare for the 2028 election.
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