Military-run Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger pull out of key international court

Ruling military juntas in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger say the three countries are withdrawing from the International Criminal Court, accusing the global tribunal of what they say is selective justice.

The pullout was not unexpected in the wake of the coups that brought the juntas to power in the three western African countries. The ICC, based in The Hague, is the world’s permanent global tribunal for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

Since the coups, the three countries' military leaders abandoned longtime partners, including the West and the West Africa regional bloc.

The three countries are battling Islamist groups that control large swathes of territory and have staged frequent attacks on military installations this year.

Human Rights Watch and other groups have accused the militants as well as the militaries and partner forces of Burkina Faso and Mali of possible atrocity crimes.

In April, United Nations experts said the alleged summary execution of several dozen civilians by Malian forces may amount to war crimes.

The ICC has had an investigation open in Mali since 2013 over alleged war crimes committed primarily in the northern regions of Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal, which had fallen under militant control.

Later that year, France intervened to push back the insurgents.

The Mali investigation was opened following a referral from the government at the time. 

They have established new alliances, mainly with Russia, whose President Vladimir Putin faces an arrest warrant by the ICC over Russia’s war in Ukraine.

In a joint statement late on Monday announcing their withdrawal, the three said the ICC has become an “instrument of neocolonial repression in the hands of imperialism,” without elaborating on the allegation. The juntas also said they are seeking more “sovereignty” and hinted at a local option to the court.

The withdrawal process from the ICC takes at least a year to complete. Earlier this year, Hungary also announced its withdrawal from the court.