1) unlike chemical warfare (where blowback is a problem) or mutually assured destruction, rape is an effective means to control a subjugated population. it is perhaps the single most effective means to control a subjugated population.
2) there have already been several agreements signed, including the rome statute. the united states will not ratify this agreement, for obvious reasons. rather than sign new agreements that are unlikely to get ratified, it would make sense to ratify and enforce the agreements that have been agreed to and signed.
it's difficult to take ol' johnny boy seriously on this. i don't doubt he means it on some level, but he's fighting against all this double think. this has been a sort of constant for boomer age democratic politicians. the gen xers don't even seem to have the moral conflict raging in them, so this administration might actually be the last moment of sanity for quite a while. like, you could see it with hillary all the time - she seemed to actually have difficulty articulating some of her speeches. she was visibly revolted at herself more than once. but, she couldn't fight against her careerism. that battle raged, but her career always won. every time.
with ol' johnny boy, it seems like it's more of a military oath. dies hard, i guess. so, again, i don't doubt that he'd like to see some movement on this. so, why not ratify and enforce the rome statute? the russians might actually go along with it, if you take the lead (the chinese, on the other hand, wouldn't sign an agreement to consider signing an agreement, as it would restrict their options regarding signing the agreement). because it's not what's really going on, and he's under no real illusions about it.
part of his job, as secretary of state, is to sell war. that means sanitizing it, to neutralize the opposition to it. and, women have a disproportionate opposition to war. if we can rebrand war to be free of rape, might it be easier to sell to women? the future of the democratic party in some sense rests on this proposal.
and, again, i don't think ol' johnny boy is really opposed to this sanitizing, either. i mean, if you can kill a few less troops and still get the same objectives? keep the kids at home, send out robots instead. yeah, i think ol' johnny boy would see some good in that.
but a realist needs to be a realist. and this is a public relations campaign.
otherwise, they'd ratify the rome statute. right?