Marco Rubio

Secretary of State

Confirmed as Secretary of State in January 2025. Repeatedly invoked emergency authorities to bypass congressional review of arms sales totaling $23+ billion to Gulf states and Israel. Sanctioned ICC judges and prosecutors. Certified third-country deportation agreements with El Salvador, Rwanda, and others. Ordered USAID dismantlement.

Linked Incidents

12 Total incidents
3 War Crime / Crime Against Humanity
8 Serious Rights Violation
1 Major Abuse of Power
2 probable 3 potential 7 enabling
Updated March 25, 2026 Complicity in Genocide
War Crime / Crime Against Humanity Ongoing Reported record

US Arms Transfers to Israel During ICJ Genocide Proceedings

Continued US arms transfers to Israel during ICJ genocide proceedings, including emergency bypasses of Congressional review, combined with active diplomatic defense of Israel at the ICJ, raising serious questions of complicity in genocide under the Genocide Convention.

  • Since October 2023, the US has delivered 90,000 tons of arms to Israel on 800 transport planes and 140 ships, continuing throughout ICJ genocide proceedings.
  • The Trump administration approved 12,000+ thousand-pound bombs via emergency authority in 2026, bypassing Congressional review of the transfer.
Sources
7
Documents
2
Updates
0
Updated March 26, 2026 Foreign Policy & War
Serious Rights Violation Ongoing Reported record

Emergency Arms Sales to Gulf States: $23 Billion Bypassing Congressional Review

Using emergency waivers under the Arms Export Control Act, the administration has bypassed Congress to approve massive arms sales to Gulf states, including to the UAE despite documented evidence of UAE weapons flowing to the RSF in Sudan's genocide. The simultaneous rescission of NSM-20 removed all human rights conditions from US arms transfers.

  • The Trump administration invoked wartime emergency powers to force through more than $23 billion in arms sales to the UAE, Kuwait, and Jordan, bypassing the mandatory congressional review process under the Arms Export Control Act.
  • Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued an emergency waiver to bypass the standard 30-day congressional review period, citing the Iran war as justification.
Sources
12
Documents
0
Updates
0
Updated March 26, 2026 Foreign Policy & War
Serious Rights Violation Ongoing Reported record

America First Arms Transfer Strategy: Human Rights Safeguards Removed From Weapons Exports

An executive order stripped human rights safeguards from the US arms transfer framework, replacing decades of bipartisan policy with a commerce-first approach. The subsequent emergency bypass of congressional review for $23+ billion in Gulf arms sales demonstrated the immediate consequences of removing these guardrails.

  • Executive Order 14383, signed February 6, 2026, establishes the 'America First Arms Transfer Strategy,' which reorders US arms export priorities to prioritize commercial and economic objectives over strategic, human rights, and humanitarian considerations.
  • The EO makes no mention of human rights, international humanitarian law, or civilian protection — a stark departure from all previous administrations' arms transfer policies, including Trump's own 2018 policy.
Sources
6
Documents
0
Updates
0
Updated January 15, 2026 Rule of Law
Serious Rights Violation Ongoing Active litigation

Executive Order Sanctioning International Criminal Court Officials

The administration imposed escalating sanctions on ICC officials -- including judges and prosecutors -- for investigating US citizens and allies, obstructing international criminal accountability and drawing broad condemnation from the UN and international legal community.

  • EO 14203 authorized visa restrictions and financial penalties against ICC officials investigating US citizens or allies, specifically Israel.
  • Sanctions were progressively expanded from prosecutor Karim Khan to four ICC judges and eventually 11 officials by December 2025.
Sources
6
Documents
0
Updates
0
Updated March 26, 2026 Rule of Law
Serious Rights Violation Ongoing Reported record

ICC Immunity Demands: Ultimatum to Amend Rome Statute and Exempt Americans from War Crimes Prosecution

A systematic campaign to destroy the International Criminal Court's ability to hold Americans accountable for war crimes, combining unprecedented sanctions on judges with demands to rewrite the Rome Statute itself. The campaign goes far beyond any previous US opposition to the ICC, seeking not merely non-cooperation but the permanent restructuring of international criminal justice.

  • On February 6, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order 14203 imposing sanctions on the ICC, blocking property of the Chief Prosecutor and authorizing designation of anyone who assists the court's investigations of US or allied personnel.
  • The administration demanded three conditions: the ICC must guarantee it will not investigate Trump or his top officials, drop investigations into Israeli leaders over the Gaza war, and formally end the probe into US troops in Afghanistan.
Sources
15
Documents
0
Updates
0
Updated August 8, 2025 Foreign Policy & War
Serious Rights Violation Ongoing Official executive action

Sanctions Against UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine

The United States sanctioned a UN human rights investigator for performing the duties of her mandate, in what UN experts described as an unprecedented threat to the international human rights system.

  • Francesca Albanese was sanctioned under EO 14203 for engaging with the ICC in its investigation of Israel.
  • Sanctions include asset freezes, prohibition on donations and transfers, and suspension of U.S. entry.
Sources
9
Documents
1
Updates
0
Updated March 25, 2026 Federal Dismantlement
War Crime / Crime Against Humanity Ongoing Official executive action

Systematic Dismantlement of USAID and Global Humanitarian Consequences

Systematic destruction of the US Agency for International Development resulted in termination of lifesaving programs across the developing world, with The Lancet projecting 9.4 million additional preventable deaths by 2030.

  • The Lancet projects 9.4 million additional deaths by 2030 as a direct result of the USAID dismantlement, making this potentially the single largest humanitarian consequence of any single administrative action.
  • 23 million children lost access to education and 95 million people lost access to basic healthcare when USAID programs were terminated.
Sources
4
Documents
2
Updates
0
Updated March 25, 2026 Federal Dismantlement
Major Abuse of Power Ongoing Official executive action

US Withdrawal from the World Health Organization — Dismantling Global Pandemic Preparedness

The US withdrew from the WHO effective January 2026, removing the organization's largest funder and dismantling pandemic preparedness infrastructure. The WHO announced plans to cut 2,300 jobs — 25% of its workforce. The withdrawal degrades global disease surveillance, influenza vaccine matching, and outbreak response capacity at a time of ongoing zoonotic disease threats.

  • Trump signed Executive Order 14155 on January 20, 2025, initiating US withdrawal from the WHO. The withdrawal became effective on January 22, 2026.
  • The US was the WHO's largest single funder, responsible for 22% of mandatory contributions during 2024-2025. The WHO's most recent two-year budget is $6.8 billion.
Sources
8
Documents
0
Updates
0
Updated June 20, 2025 Civil Rights
Serious Rights Violation Ongoing Active litigation

Deportation Proceedings Against Mahmoud Khalil for Pro-Palestine Protest Activity

A Columbia graduate student with a green card was arrested by ICE for his role in Gaza solidarity protests and ordered deported on the novel grounds that his speech posed 'adverse foreign policy consequences,' establishing a dangerous precedent for using immigration enforcement to suppress political dissent.

  • Khalil was a lawful permanent resident (green card holder) arrested from his Columbia University campus apartment by ICE.
  • When ICE learned he held a green card rather than a student visa, agents said that status would be revoked too.
Sources
4
Documents
0
Updates
0
Updated March 25, 2026 Deportation to Torture
War Crime / Crime Against Humanity Ongoing Reported record

Secret $6 Million Contract to Outsource Detention to El Salvador's CECOT

A secret $6 million contract enabled the US to outsource detention to El Salvador's CECOT mega-prison, where HRW documented systematic torture. The unreleased agreement created an unprecedented mechanism to evade domestic legal protections by transferring detainees to a foreign torture facility.

  • The US paid $6 million to El Salvador to detain deportees at CECOT, a mega-prison where HRW documented systematic torture including sexual violence, beatings, and prolonged incommunicado detention.
  • The agreement was negotiated during Secretary Rubio's February 2025 visit to El Salvador and finalized as a written deal that has never been publicly released, despite its unprecedented nature.
Sources
8
Documents
2
Updates
0
Updated March 25, 2026 Deportation & Immigration
Serious Rights Violation Ongoing Judicial finding

Third-Country Deportations to Rwanda, Ghana, and South Sudan

The US paid Rwanda, Ghana, Eswatini, and South Sudan to accept deportees who are not their nationals, in deals a federal judge ruled unconstitutional. HRW called the expulsion agreements violations of international human rights law, and domestic lawsuits in Ghana challenge the deal's legality.

  • Rwanda agreed to accept up to 250 deportees from the US under a deal involving approximately $7.5 million in US financial support. Eswatini accepted up to 160 deportees for $5.1 million.
  • US District Judge Brian Murphy ruled the third-country deportation policy violates federal immigration law and migrants' constitutional right to due process.
Sources
7
Documents
2
Updates
0
Updated March 26, 2026 Deportation to Torture
Serious Rights Violation Ongoing Reported record

Secretive $7.5 Million Deal Deports 29 People to Equatorial Guinea's Authoritarian Regime

A secret agreement with one of the world's most repressive regimes has stranded 29 deportees in Equatorial Guinea, where they face indefinite detention without counsel or forced deportation to the countries they fled. The $7.5 million deal is part of a broader $40 million third-country deportation program targeting migrants from countries that will not accept their return.

  • The Trump administration paid Equatorial Guinea $7.5 million in a secretive deal to accept 29 deportees from the United States, as part of a broader $40 million third-country deportation program.
  • The 29 deportees were sent on two flights — November 24, 2025 and January 22, 2026 — and came from nine countries: Ethiopia, Eritrea, Mauritania, Angola, Congo, Chad, Georgia, Ghana, and Nigeria. None were from Equatorial Guinea.
Sources
7
Documents
0
Updates
0