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During his regular media\u00a0briefing, UN Spokesperson St\u00e9phane Dujarric was asked\u00a0if the Secretary-General had anything to say regarding\u00a0reports\u00a0that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio wants to \u201cdismantle\u201d the\u00a0Court, which prosecutes individuals for\u00a0genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the ICC is an\u00a0organisation\u00a0that is separate from the Secretariat and the UN, it\u00a0remains for us a critical cog in the international justice system<\/strong>,\u201d said Mr. Dujarric.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt is supported by a vast number of Member States, and it helps bring accountability for serious crimes,\u201d\u00a0he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n The US is not a party to the Rome Statue, the 1998 treaty that established the ICC, which is located in The Hague in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n Learn more about the ICC in\u00a0<\/strong>our explainer\u00a0here.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n Mr. Rubio\u00a0laid out his plans\u00a0in\u00a0an opinion piece published in\u00a0The Wall Street Journal<\/em>, underlining\u00a0sovereignty\u00a0and independence.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAmerica never agreed to a world tribunal that can override our own courts and the Constitution,\u201d he wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n The US was \u201claunching a diplomatic campaign with a simple message\u00a0\u2013\u00a0sovereign\u00a0States over globalism,\u201d\u00a0Secretary Rubio continued.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n It comes in the wake of developments last year, when\u00a0Washington\u00a0imposed sanctions on\u00a0nine\u00a0ICC\u00a0personnel \u2013 including\u00a0judges,\u00a0the\u00a0prosecutor and deputy prosecutors\u00a0\u2013\u00a0in connection with\u00a0efforts to\u00a0investigate alleged war crimes committed\u00a0by\u00a0US\u00a0forces\u00a0in\u00a0Afghanistan and\u00a0Israel in Gaza.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the opinion piece,\u00a0Mr. Rubio\u00a0stressed that\u00a0\u201cindependence is our birthright\u201d and\u00a0the US does not\u00a0\u201cintend to trade it for rule by a self-appointed priesthood of \u2018international law.\u2019\u201d\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n Mr. Dujarric\u00a0was asked if the Secretary-General accepts this characterization of the system the UN Charter is built on.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cInternational law, the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,\u00a0were\u00a0created by sovereign Member States,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey have brought protection, they have brought relief to millions of people, and they are, as the Secretary-General has often said, under threat and under attack.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\nInternational law \u2018under attack\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n