Niger officially request to quit ICC

Niger has officially initiated its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court, the tribunal announced Tuesday. The move, nine months after Niger's military government first declared its intention alongside Mali and Burkina Faso, marks another step in the Sahelian nations' pivot away from the West.

General Abdourahamane Tiani's government submitted the "instrument of withdrawal" on June 18. The ICC stated the request becomes effective on June 18, 2027, one year after notification, during which Niger must continue to honor its obligations. The court acknowledged the sovereign right of states to withdraw from treaties but regretted the departure from the "collective effort to end impunity for the most serious international crimes."

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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 three Sahelian countries, all led by military governments that seized power in coups between 2020 and 2023, have jointly criticized the ICC as an "instrument of neo-colonial repression." They are grappling with significant violence from jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, while their own armies face accusations of committing crimes against civilians. The ICC, founded in 2002, prosecutes individuals for war crimes when national authorities are unwilling or unable to do so.

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instrument of neo-colonial repression in the hands of imperialism