By Muhammad Mamman
Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have announced their withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC), declaring they no longer recognise its jurisdiction.
The three junta-led West African nations accused the Hague-based court of arbitrary prosecutions and acting as “an instrument of neo-colonialist repression.”
They stressed, however, their commitment to protecting human rights “in line with national values,” echoing the same reasoning used to justify their earlier withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Human rights groups and UN experts have repeatedly accused Mali’s and Burkina Faso’s armed forces, along with allied militias, of committing war crimes in counter-insurgency operations against Islamist militants — abuses carried out alongside atrocities by the jihadists themselves.
While national authorities insist investigations are ongoing, no public findings have been released.
The ICC, established in 2002, prosecutes genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. All EU states are members, but the U.S., Russia and Israel are not signatories.
Despite vast gold and uranium reserves largely exploited by foreign companies, the Sahel trio remain among the world’s poorest nations. Since 2020, military juntas in all three — former French colonies — have severed ties with Western allies and increasingly aligned with Russia for security cooperation.
