Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Tuesday new sanctions against International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane and Senior Trial Lawyer Abdoulaye Seye as tensions flare between the court and the Trump administration.
“These individuals have directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute officials whose government has not consented to ICC jurisdiction,” his statement said.
The ICC, he added, has attempted to “assert authority over” over U.S. citizens and nationals of other nations that have not consented to the Rome Statute that set up the court.
The United States is not a party to the ICC.
“Our whole of government campaign to dismantle the threat posed by the ICC to national sovereignty will be sweeping and we expect more countries to join our campaign by ending their funding and participation in this politicized and unaccountable court,” Rubio said, suggesting that “additional measures” may be taken against the Hague, Netherlands-based body.
As Jack Phillips reports for The Epoch Times, the sanctions against Akane and Seye were issued under a Trump executive order last year author
