The European Union on Tuesday slammed threats against the International Criminal Court, after Washington vowed a sweeping campaign against the tribunal.
"We are strongly committed to international criminal justice and the fight against impunity. Attacks or threats against the court-elected officials, personnel or those cooperating with the court, are simply not acceptable," EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed the Hague-based court acts as a lawless, supranational authority that violates sovereign American borders.
In a video posted on X and a lengthy op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, Rubio vowed to "dismantle" the court, claiming it posed "an intolerable threat to US sovereignty."
"The ICC and its friends are waging a war against our country, not with bullets or missiles, but with statutes, compacts and the force of so-called international law," Rubio said in the video.
The State Department threatened to “systematically disable” the court to prevent it from operating against “Americans” and pressure other nations to withdraw their support.
American officials vowed that no diplomatic weapon or financial leverage would be spared in the campaign.
The pressure strategy specifically targets nations that rely heavily on United States military defence and foreign assistance.
Human rights advocates warn that the hostile offensive against the global court risks fracturing the entire postwar international rule of law.
