Pompeo criticizes the ICC
The US does not recognize the court and had always opposed its formation. Pompeo said that the court was an unaccountable political institution masquerading as a legal body. Pompeo claimed it was reckless to even suggest an investigation after a peace deal was reached, and he said that the US would take all necessary measures to shield US personnel from the investigation,
US policy has often been to undermine the ICC
The US has taken a number of measures against the ICC but different US governments have had differing and complex relations with the court as a Wikipedia article points out. Under US law the court cannot even investigate any US personnel accused of war crimes. The US State Dept. is restricting visas of ICC officials to make sure that they do not come to the US to investigate any Americans.
In September 2018, President Donald Trump criticized the ICC before the United Nations. In April of 2019 the US revoked the visa of Fatou Bensouda the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in anticipation of a later investigation into US war crimes in Afghanistan. The investigation was eventually authorized in March of 2020.
American Service-Members’ Protection Act (ASPA)
The ASPA was enacted August 2 in 2002. The aim of the federal law is “to protect United States military personnel and other elected and appointed officials of the United States government against criminal prosecution by an international criminal court to which the United States is not party.”
The act authorizes the US president to use all means necessary and appropriate to bring about the release of any US or allied personnel being detained or imprisoned by on behalf of or at the request of the ICC. This provision has led to ASPA being nicknamed the Hague Invasion Act. ASPA prohibits US federal, state, and local governments including courts and law enforcement agencies from assisting the ICC. For example no person can be extradited from the US to the ICC. The act also bans US military aid to countries that are party to the court. However, there are numerous exceptions and waivers.
Bilateral Immunity Agreements (BIAs)
A Wikipedia article explains the background of the BIA: “Article 98 of the Rome Statute prohibits the ICC from requesting assistance or the surrender of a person to the ICC if to do so would require the state to “act inconsistently” with its obligations under international law or international agreements unless the state or the third-party state waives the immunity or grants cooperation.[62] The U.S. has interpreted this article to mean that its citizens cannot be transferred to the ICC by any state that has signed a bilateral agreement with the U.S. prohibiting such a transfer, even if the state is a member of the Rome Statute. The U.S. actively pressured states to conclude such so-called Article 98 agreements, otherwise known as bilateral immunity agreements (BIAs).”
By 2006 over one hundred BIA’s were in place. Several countries lost aid both military and other aid because they refused to sign such agreements. However, by 2009 with Obama in office the aid restrictions on those not signing BIAs were dropped. Restrictions under ASPA had also been repealed under Bush
