Military-run Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso announce joint ICC withdrawal

Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, three nations in West Africa run by military governments after coups in recent years, have announced their exit from the International Criminal Court (ICC), referring to it as “neocolonial repression” and accusing the judicial body of selective justice.

In a joint statement on Monday night, the three countries said the ICC had become incapable of prosecuting war crimes, crimes against humanity, crimes of aggression and genocide without elaborating.

“]The ICC is an] instrument of neocolonial repression in the hands of imperialism”, the joint statement read, adding that the countries were seeking more “sovereignty”.

The three states added that they wanted to create “indigenous mechanisms for the consolidation of peace and justice”.

The three countries, which are ruled by military officers, have already left the Economic Community of West African States and instead formed their own bloc known as the Alliance of Sahel States.

Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali have also rolled back defence cooperation with Western powers, most notably their former colonial ruler, France, and opted for closer ties with Russia.

The countries ‘ withdrawal from the ICC was not unexpected after the coups that brought the military to power in the three states from 2020 to 2023.

Within the three countries, the military governments are fighting armed groups linked to al-Qaeda that control territory and have staged attacks on army posts.

Human Rights Watch and other advocacy groups have accused the fighters, the military and partner forces of Burkina Faso and Mali of possible atrocities.

United Nations experts said in April that the alleged summary executions of several dozen civilians by Malian forces might amount to war crimes.

Moreover, the ICC has had an investigation open in Mali since 2013 over alleged war crimes committed in the northern regions of Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal, which had fallen under the control of armed groups.