Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have officially begun a one-year process to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC). The move follows their September 2025 announcement to exit the Rome Statute.
The three Sahelian nations deposited their formal notifications with the United Nations Secretary-General between June 18 and June 24, 2026. Consequently, the withdrawals will become effective in June 2027.
The ICC confirmed the notifications on Wednesday, warning that the departures could weaken global efforts to end impunity. The court urged the military-led governments to remain committed to the international justice system.
Despite the withdrawal process, the court maintains that exiting does not absolve a state of obligations incurred while it was a party to the treaty. Ongoing investigations remain unaffected by this exit.
All three nations are currently governed by military regimes following a series of coups between 2020 and 2023. These administrations have frequently denounced the ICC as a tool of neocolonial repression.
Amnesty International criticized the decision, arguing that it denies thousands of victims the possibility of truth and justice. The group emphasized that these countries still lack the judicial capacity to prosecute grave crimes.
The trend of withdrawing from the International Criminal Court is not entirely without precedent. In 2016, South Africa and The Gambia also initiated the process, though both later abandoned their plans to leave.
