Niger Submits Formal Request to Withdraw from the ICC

Junta‑ruled Niger has formally submitted a request to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), the Hague‑based tribunal announced on Tuesday, nine months after the country, along with Mali and Burkina Faso, declared its intention to leave the court.

The three Sahelian states are all governed by hardline military regimes that seized power in coups between 2020 and 2023 and have distanced themselves from the West.

In September of last year, they jointly announced their withdrawal, describing the ICC as an “instrument of neo‑colonial repression in the hands of imperialism.”

In a statement sent to AFP on Tuesday, the ICC said it had received an “instrument of withdrawal” on 18 June from Niger, led by General Abdourahamane Tiani.

The request will take effect on 18 June 2027, the court said – one year after notification. Niger must honour its obligations to the court until that date, the statement added.

“While joining or withdrawing from a treaty remains a sovereign right of States under international law, we regret any decision to depart from the collective effort to end impunity for the most serious international crimes,” the ICC said.

The ICC statement made no mention of Mali or Burkina Faso. The three countries are facing deadly violence from jihadist groups linked to Al‑Qaeda and the Islamic State, while their armies are also accused of crimes against civilians.

Founded in 2002, the International Criminal Court’s mission is to prosecute the perpetrators of the most serious crimes, such as war crimes, when countries lack the will or capacity to do so themselves.

The ICC has 125 member states at the moment. The United States and Russia are not among them, nor are Israel, China, or Myanmar.

Vanguard News