Sponsors
The bill strengthens U.S. control over foreign-court activity on U.S. soil and shields U.S. persons from ICC jurisdiction, but it does so at the cost of reduced influence in international justice forums and increased risk of diplomatic friction with the UN and other partners.
U.S. persons (including taxpayers and American residents) are explicitly protected from ICC jurisdiction and the bill creates a mechanism to try to prevent ICC operations in U.S.-based UN facilities.
Federal employees and the U.S. diplomatic presence will see reaffirmation of the U.S. commitment to the UN Headquarters Agreement, supporting continued diplomatic presence and operations in New York.
Foreign policy officials and the U.S. Mission to the UN get a clear negotiating objective (with a defined timeline) to seek restrictions on ICC access to UN facilities on U.S. soil, creating a specific policy path for diplomacy.
U.S. foreign policy influence and Americans generally could be reduced because reiterating non-ratification and actions to block ICC access may limit U.S. ability to shape ICC deliberations and international justice outcomes.
U.S. diplomacy and federal operations could be strained because demanding restrictions on UN operations and ICC access risks harming U.S.-UN relations and complicating broader diplomatic cooperation.
International justice cooperation and victims of international crimes may be harmed because blocking ICC access to UN facilities in the U.S. can undermine cooperation, provoke reciprocal measures, and hinder prosecutions.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Requires the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations to start negotiating, within 30 days after the opening of the 80th UN General Assembly session, for a supplemental agreement that would bar the United Nations from hosting, leasing, or otherwise allowing use of U.S. facilities by the International Criminal Court. The measure defines the ICC and Rome Statute by reference to existing U.S. law and cites historical U.S.-UN agreements but does not itself appropriate funds or create new domestic criminal jurisdiction. The directive is a diplomatic instruction aimed at changing a supplemental term of the United Nations Headquarters Agreement; it asks the U.S. Mission to the UN to seek a formal prohibition on the ICC’s use of UN facilities located in the United States rather than directly ordering the UN or other parties to act.
Introduced March 4, 2025 by Mike Lee · Last progress March 4, 2025