U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday urged members of the International Criminal Court to resign and condemned what he called an "out of control institution" and "an evil group of people."
Trump told the United Nations General Assembly that the US would not allow military servicemembers to be subject to what he called show trials by an anti-American tribunal.
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"I call on all nations that are members of the ICC to officially resign from this rogue institution immediately," he said.
“We will never allow U.S. service members or anyone else to be investigated or given show trials by an anti-American tribunal with no jurisdiction over us.”
The Trump administration has openly criticised the court, which prosecutes war crimes and genocide around the world, and imposed sanctions on it in February last year.
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Trump’s outburst follows reports his administration is preparing new sanctions against the ICC after the global tribunal issued an arrest warrant for his ally, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
American officials told the Wall Street Journal last week that fresh moves to sanction the court could be finalised shortly after the General Assembly, which Netanyahu is set to attend later this week.
The ICC charged Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, in November 2024 with committing war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza following the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. The U.S. is not a member of the ICC and is not obligated to enforce the warrant.
