THE US

• • The US ultimately opposed the treaty over concerns the prosecutor would have unchecked power and could subject U.S. soldiers and officials to politicised prosecutions.
  • The Trump administration took a harder line, angered by then Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda’s push to investigate U.S. armed forces and CIA personnel for potential war crimes in Afghanistan.
• • In 2018, then National Security Advisor John Bolton announced that the White House would no longer cooperate with the ICC and would block any efforts to pursue the U.S.
  • The following year, after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo threatened to revoke the visas of any ICC staff investigating the United States, Bensouda’s U.S. visa was cancelled.
  • The ICC launched a probe into crimes in Afghanistan in 2020, reversing a previous decision not to investigate the matter
  • In response, Trump imposed sanctions against individuals associated with the ICC.