The military-led governments of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger announced Monday they are withdrawing from the International Criminal Court, denouncing it as a "neo-colonial" imperialist instrument.
The juntas that took over in Bamako, Ouagadougou and Niamey after coups between 2020 and 2023 have since allied themselves in a confederation called the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) and distanced themselves from the West, notably from former colonial ruler, France.
The court, based in The Hague, was "an instrument of neo-colonialist repression in the hands of imperialism," the three countries said in a joint statement.
"The ICC has proven itself incapable of handling and prosecuting proven war crimes, crimes against humanity, crimes of genocide, and crimes of aggression," they said.
The three states also said they wanted to create "indigenous mechanisms for the consolidation of peace and justice."
A state's withdrawal only takes effect one year after the official submission of the case to the U.N. General Secretariat.
Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have notably drawn closer to countries such as Russia, whose President Vladimir Putin has been the subject of an ICC arrest warrant since March 2023 over the war in Ukraine.
The West African countries are facing deadly violence from terrorist groups linked to al-Qaida and Daesh (IS), but 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.
