Quote America is a sovereign Nation and our first priority is always the safety and security of our citizens.

SAFEGUARDING AMERICAN SOVEREIGNTY: President Donald J. Trump is committed to defending our national sovereignty and security interests.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an international court established in July 2002, upon the entry into force of a multilateral treaty known as the Rome Statute.

Though the United States originally signed the Statute in 2000, the Senate failed to ratify it.

In May 2002, President George W. Bush authorized then-Under Secretary of State John Bolton to “unsign” it based on the United States’ view that it was fundamentally illegitimate. The United States’ view was grounded in concerns over the broad, unaccountable powers granted to the ICC and its Chief Prosecutor by the Rome Statute, powers that posed a significant threat to United States sovereignty and our constitutional protections.

The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute and has consistently voiced its strong objections to any assertion of ICC jurisdiction over American personnel. The United States is not an outlier – more than 70 nations, representing two-thirds of the world’s population and over 70% of the world’s armed forces, are not parties. Some of our closest allies, including Israel, have pointed out the ICC’s flawed approach as constraining liberal, democratic nations in exercising their right of self-defense.

It is a fundamental principle of international law that a treaty is binding only on its parties, and that it does not create obligations for non-parties without their consent. The Rome Statute cannot dispose of rights of the United States as a non-Party without United States consent.



PROTECTING UNITED STATES SERVICE MEMBERS: The Trump Administration will use any means necessary to protect our citizens, and those of our allies, from unjust prosecution by the ICC.