Niger’s military-led government has formally submitted its request to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), the Hague-based tribunal confirmed on Tuesday, marking a major step in its earlier announced exit from the global justice body.
The ICC said it received an “instrument of withdrawal” from Niger on June 18, nearly nine months after the country announced its intention to leave the court alongside its Sahel allies Mali and Burkina Faso.
The three West African states, all governed by military juntas that came to power through coups between 2020 and 2023, had previously declared their collective decision to withdraw from the ICC, describing the institution as an “instrument of neo-colonial repression in the hands of imperialism.”
According to the ICC, the withdrawal submitted by Niger will take effect on June 18, 2027, in line with international treaty provisions that require a one-year notice period before exit becomes valid.
The court stressed that Niger remains bound by its legal obligations until the withdrawal becomes effective.
“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 ICC said in a statement.
The ICC did not provide updates on similar withdrawal processes for Mali and Burkina Faso.
The three Sahel countries are currently facing prolonged insecurity driven by jihadist insurgencies linked to Al-Qaeda and Islamic State affiliates. At the same time, their national armed forces have also faced allegations of abuses against civilians, further complicating the human rights situation in the region.
Established in 2002, the International Criminal Court prosecutes individuals accused of the world’s most serious crimes, including genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, particularly when national jurisdictions are unwilling or unable to act.
The court currently has 125 member states. Major global powers including the United States, Russia, China, Israel and Myanmar are not parties to the Rome Statute that established the ICC.
Niger’s withdrawal marks a significant geopolitical shift in the Sahel region, where relations between military governments and Western-backed international institutions have continued to deteriorate in recent years.
