Rubio warns ICC against enforcing laws Washington rejects
The secretary of state told a conservative lawyers' convention the court is "accountable to none," a month after Washington announced sanctions on the tribunal.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a conservative lawyers' gathering in Washington on Friday that the International Criminal Court cannot expect the United States to accept enforcement of rules it does not recognise, a month after Washington announced sanctions on the tribunal.
According to excerpts seen in advance by AFP and published by Arab News, Rubio told the Federalist Society National Lawyers Convention that the Hague-based court is "accountable to none" while "armed with the power to investigate, prosecute and jail our citizens according to laws we neither consent to nor control."
He closed with a classical comparison. "If they are foolish enough to try to enforce their paper decrees, our answer will be the same as the Roman general Pompey gave to those who invoked their city's charters against his legions: 'Stop quoting laws to men with swords.'"
Anadolu Agency reported that the address drew applause from the lawyers in the hall, and that Rubio accused a "global elite" of using international law to erode US sovereignty and defended President Donald Trump's sanctions against the court.
The sanctions were announced in October and are due to take effect in six months. Washington said at the time it would dismantle the court "brick by brick," after ICC judges issued an arrest warrant for Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged crimes in Gaza. Israel welcomed the decision. European governments and the United Nations opposed the sanctions and have asked for the six months before they bite to be used for negotiations.
The United States signed the Rome Statute that created the court but never ratified it, so it is not a member, as are Israel, Russia and China.
The court began work in 2002 and prosecutes individuals accused of the gravest atrocities, acting only when national legal systems cannot deliver accountability.
Arab News reported that the speech was Rubio's first major address in the United States since the Republican Party's sweeping losses in this month's midterm elections. It said he is widely seen as a possible successor to Trump, though he has dismissed reports that he planned to leave the administration to prepare a run in 2028.
Rubio had said previously that Washington would bar transactions with what he called a "rogue court."
How the reports differ
Arab News reported the speech from excerpts circulated in advance and carried by AFP, and led on the political setting: Rubio's first big domestic speech since the Republican midterm losses, and his standing as a possible 2028 candidate. Anadolu Agency alone reported the reaction in the room, saying the remarks drew applause from the lawyers, and it singled out his attack on a "global elite" using international law against US sovereignty. The Japan Times framed the address as a swipe at international law itself rather than at one court, leading with the line about quoting laws to men with swords. Reuters and The Hindu ran the same headline word for word, describing Rubio as assailing the court before a conservative legal group.
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