US President Donald Trump has called on countries that are members of the International Criminal Court to withdraw from the body, describing it as an “out-of-control institution”.
Trump made the call on Tuesday while addressing the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
“The United States is equally opposed to the out-of-control institution known as the International Criminal Court,” he said.
“I call on all nations that are members of the ICC to officially resign from this rogue institution immediately,” he added.
The ICC prosecutes individuals accused of some of the world’s gravest crimes, including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Trump’s call comes amid continuing tensions between Washington and the court over its investigations and actions involving US allies.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has previously vowed to dismantle the ICC “brick by brick”, describing the court as an “intolerable threat to US sovereignty”.
Washington has also imposed sanctions on ICC officials over the court’s actions involving Israel.
On Tuesday, Trump said the US would “never allow US service members or anyone else to be investigated or given show-trials by an anti-American tribunal with no jurisdiction over us.”
The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC. Israel, Russia and China are also not States Parties.
The ICC had 125 States Parties as of January 2025, according to the Assembly of States Parties. Nigeria is among the countries that have joined the Rome Statute.