Chad withdraws from International Criminal Court, citing bias

Chad has officially announced its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing the Hague-based institution of inefficiency and a prejudiced approach toward African countries. The Central African nation has formally begun the process of leaving the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, a procedure that requires at least one year to complete.

This move makes Chad the fourth African country to disengage from the ICC since 2025, joining Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso in their departure. The court itself is currently facing significant challenges, including the recent dismissal of its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, on July 24 due to allegations of sexual misconduct.

The United States has been actively encouraging African nations to withdraw from the ICC. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated this month that the U.S. is campaigning to expose what he termed the ICC's threat to national sovereignty. An executive order signed by former U.S. President Donald Trump in February 2025 imposed sanctions on the court for its investigations into Israel, a U.S. ally.

The U.S. State Department's Bureau of African Affairs welcomed Chad's decision, calling it a step aligned with a growing number of countries reclaiming their sovereignty from what it described as a "flawed institution." Masood Binous, a senior advisor for Africa and the Middle East at the State Department and father-in-law to one of Trump's daughters, praised Chad's decision on social media, reiterating that "no diplomatic option will be left unturned in the campaign to remove the threat of the ICC to Americans."

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The United States welcomes Chad's decision to withdraw from the ICC and join the growing number of countries reclaiming their sovereignty from this flawed institution.