Days after Secretary of State Marco Rubio vowed to "dismantle” the International Criminal Court, Rep. Ilhan Omar hit back on Wednesday with a resolution urging the US to join the international war crimes tribunal for the first time.

The Democrat from Minnesota was the first member of Congress to push back against the Trump administration’s pledge that it would “systematically disable” the ICC’s “ability to operate, target American servicemen or officials, or otherwise threaten American sovereignty.”

“The ICC is a crucial tool for justice in places where victims have nowhere else to turn,” Omar told The Guardian. “If we truly believe in human rights and the rule of law, we should strengthen international justice—not undermine it. The United States should lead by example and show that no one is above the law.”

The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute, which established the ICC in 1998. But during President Donald Trump’s second term, his administration has waged war on the body, specifically over its investigations into Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and investigations into US personnel over alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.

It has imposed sanctions on most of the court’s leadership, as well as on those who have “materially assisted” ICC investigations it opposes, including lawyers and human rights groups that have provided evidence.

The administration has also reportedly demanded that the court amend the Rome Statute to ensure that Trump and members of his administration, as well as Israeli officials, cannot be investigated or prosecuted.

Rubio’s pledge to dismantle the court has drawn widespread condemnation from human rights advocates.

Agnès Callamard, the secretary general of Amnesty International, said that “in trying to discredit the court, Rubio instead highlights its very purpose: ensuring accountability when those with the power to act choose not to.”

“His arguments read like a tacit admission of wrongdoing,” she said, “suggesting concerns that US officials could one day be held accountable for actions that may amount to crimes under international law, including deporting people to torture in El Salvador’s prisons or the campaign of extrajudicial killings in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.”

She said, "The only reason he would have to fear the ICC is if US officials have committed such crimes outside the United States and the US government is unwilling to hold them genuinely accountable.”

Omar’s resolution came as a pair of advocacy organizations launched a lawsuit against Trump and other top administration officials alleging that they illegally “muzzle[d] Palestine advocacy” in violation of the First Amendment when they sanctioned human rights groups that called for investigations into US and Israeli nationals over war crimes in Gaza.

While Rubio has denounced the court’s very existence as a threat to “every aspect of [America’s] political and legal system," and argued that it could lead to the prosecution of US soldiers simply for serving in the military, Omar said this was “simply not true.”

“The ICC is an international court of last resort, intended to prosecute only the most horrific crimes—war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity—when countries are unable or unwilling to do so themselves,” she said. “The best way to avoid ICC scrutiny is simple: don’t commit atrocity crimes, and if credible allegations arise, investigate them transparently and hold those responsible accountable.”

Omar has introduced two previous resolutions calling on the US to ratify the Rome Statute and join the ICC in 2020 and 2022. Neither of them was brought to the floor for a vote, though the latter one had nine Democratic cosponsors.

Announcing plans for a new resolution on Monday, she said, “I urge my colleagues who believe in justice and human rights to join me.”

She said: "America is strongest when we lead with our values, not when we demand immunity from them. If we respect human rights, uphold the rule of law, and hold ourselves to the same standards we ask of others, we have nothing to fear from the ICC.”

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