Ilhan Omar renews push for US to join ICC amid Trump pressure

The resolution comes days after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio pledged to ‘dismantle’ the international court.

United States Representative Ilhan Omar has pushed back against President Donald Trump’s efforts to “dismantle” the International Criminal Court (ICC), instead introducing a resolution calling on the country to join the tribunal.

The move came just days after Secretary of State Marco Rubio pledged to “dismantle the ICC — brick by brick, if necessary”, using “all the tools at our government’s disposal”.

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Omar’s resolution, introduced on Wednesday, calls on the US to join the ICC by ratifying the Rome Statute, the court’s founding document.

The resolution would also put pressure on the Trump administration to lift the sanctions and visa restrictions it has placed on court officials.

Omar, a former child refugee from Somalia, argued in a statement this week that joining the court would be a step towards fortifying the rule of law around the world.

“If we truly believe in human rights and the rule of law, we should strengthen international justice — not undermine it,” Omar said. “The United States should lead by example and show that no one is above the law.”

But the Trump administration has lashed out at the ICC for its investigations of US and Israeli personnel.

Neither the US nor Israel is a signatory to the Rome Statute, and neither recognises the court’s authority. But both countries have been accused of human rights abuses in countries that are ICC member states.

The ICC, for instance, has investigated Israel over war crimes in Gaza, issuing arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant in November 2024.

Multiple experts, including at the United Nations, have concluded that Israel’s war on Gaza was a genocide against Palestinians.

The US, meanwhile, has been investigated for war crimes committed in Afghanistan following the 2001 invasion, as well as at alleged “black sites” where prisoners were held.

During his first term and continuing into his second, Trump has taken action against the ICC and its officials to penalise those involved in such investigations.

Over the past year, multiple ICC prosecutors and judges have faced sanctions, as well as rights groups that have provided evidence in court.

On Monday, Rubio took things further, accusing the court in a video statement of “waging a war against our country, not with bullets or missiles, but with statutes, compacts and the force of so-called international law”.

The State Department announced a “whole-of-government response” to weaken the court, saying the administration would work to “systematically disable” it.

Steps under consideration include appealing to countries that partner with the US military and law enforcement to “reject the ICC’s purported authority to prosecute American officials and servicemen”.

The announcement also suggested “increased scrutiny of nations that refuse to reject the ICC’s false authority while relying on US assistance”, as well as “increased sanctions” and travel bans for people and organisations affiliated with the court.

Trump first sanctioned court officials in 2020 over the Afghanistan investigation, before former President Joe Biden lifted the measures.

On Monday, Omar criticised Rubio’s announcement as “reckless and dangerous”.

“I have seen firsthand that impunity breeds more violence,” she wrote, voicing her support for the court’s work. “The ICC is a crucial tool for justice when victims have nowhere else to turn.”

The resolution comes as two US advocacy groups sue the Trump administration, arguing that the president’s sanctions have forced them to stop their constitutionally protected work.

Both groups have offered support for the court’s investigation into alleged Israeli war crimes in occupied Palestinian territory. They say their activity is protected under the First Amendment of the US Constitution.