What the Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso’s ICC Withdrawal Means
Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have pulled out of the International Criminal Court (ICC). In a joint statement, the military-led West African states said that the court’s jurisdiction had “transformed into an instrument of neocolonial repression in the hands of imperialism”. The countries accused the ICC of being a global example of “selective justice”.
The military-led governments argued that the ICC had proven incapable of prosecuting war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity, saying they intended instead to establish “indigenous mechanisms” to secure peace and justice. The military-led countries have previously used this same argument to justify their withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The juntas, which toppled the governments in Bamako, Ouagadougou, and Niamey after coups between 2020 and 2023, have since formed a confederation called the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
