The Trump administration on Monday launched an effort to “dismantle” the International Criminal Court over what it said were the threat the court poses to American sovereignty.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the plan in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.

“The US is launching a diplomatic campaign with a simple message — sovereign states over globalism. Those who benefit from American security must not stand idly by while those who provide that security are targeted,” Rubio wrote.

“This is only the beginning. Using all the tools at our government’s disposal, working beside every ally with whom we can make common cause, we will dismantle the ICC — brick by brick, if necessary,” he said.

President Donald Trump and other US officials, such as former president George W. Bush, have long said the ICC should not have the authority to investigate and prosecute Americans, particularly members of the US military.

A State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Monday that a wide range of options is under consideration to target the ICC, including travel bans, visa revocations, increased sanctions against the ICC and affiliated organizations, and diplomatic pressure on other nations to withdraw from the ICC.

The ICC was established in 2002 by the international community to prosecute war crimes, genocide, and crimes against........

© The Times of Israel