Obama Statements on the ICC

As a candidate, Senator Barack Obama stated that his administration would cooperate with the Court on Darfur and other cases and consult closely with military and legal advisers before making a decision on whether to join the Court

"The United States should cooperate with ICC investigations in a way that reflects American sovereignty and promotes our national security interests." Response to candidate questionnaire, 2004

"I will consult thoroughly with our military commanders and also examine the track record of the Court before reaching a decision on whether the U.S. should become a State Party to the ICC." Response to candidate questionnaire, October 6, 2007

"My administration would continue to cooperate with ongoing ICC investigations in Sudan." Response to candidate questionnaire, October 6, 2007

"The US also needs to work with the International Criminal Court to ramp up the pace of indictments of those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity, while Khartoum must feel increased pressure to hand over those individuals already indicted by the Court." Press statement, April 23, 2008

Administration Approach to the ICC

The Obama administration has opened a new chapter in US-ICC relations by cooperating with the Court and participating in its governing body, the Assembly of States Parties. indicated that it will take a more positive approach toward the ICC. Members of the administration have made positive statements about the Court and engaged with the ICC in ways that support US national interests.

Several individuals sympathetic to the Court are in places of influence in the administration:

John F. Kerry, Secretary of State (former US Senator and presidential candidate)
Legal Adviser, US Department of State - currently vacant
Michael Posner, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, US Department of State
Samantha Power, Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs, National Security Council; Chair, Atrocities Prevention Board - vacancy expected
Stephen J. Rapp, Ambassador-at-Large, Office of Global Criminal Justice, US Department of State

These and other administration officials - including US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice - have made statements on Darfur and support for the case against Omar Al Bashir, president of Sudan. Most dramatically, the US under the Obama administration co-sponsored and voted in favor of Resolution 1970, adopted unanimously by the UN Security Council, which referred the situation in Libya to the ICC. However, it has indicated that it does not plan to complete a formal US policy toward the ICC.

Administration Advocacy Actions

What You Can Do

Thank President Obama for supporting and signing into law an expansion of the State Department's Rewards for Justice program to include rewards for actionable intelligence that could lead to the arrest of ICC suspects
Urge the administration to expand its cooperation with the Court beyond specific investigations and prosecutions in the US national interest, and to reinstate the US signature of the Rome Statute

Letters to the Administration

Letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on the ICC Policy Review from Non-Governmental Organizations, including AMICC (April 16, 2009)

Please send us copies of letters you have sent to the administration and any responses so that we can add them in this section.