ICC confirms Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger move to leave court

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have initiated a year-long process of withdrawing from the International Criminal ​Court (ICC), the court said in a statement.

• The military-led ‌West African countries announced in September their withdrawal from the ICC, denouncing it as “a tool of neocolonial repression”.
• All three are fighting Islamist ​insurgencies that have seized large areas of territory ​and stepped up attacks on military targets this year. ⁠Rights groups have accused militants as well as ​the armed forces of Burkina Faso and Mali of possible ​atrocities.
• The court is the world’s permanent war crimes tribunal, which prosecutes individuals accused of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the ​crime of aggression when national courts are unwilling or ​unable to act.
• In a statement published on Wednesday, the presidency of ‌the ICC’s governing body confirmed that Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger had submitted withdrawal letters and initiated the one-year process of withdrawing from the Rome Statute, the treaty that ​established the ICC.
• The ​statement said the ⁠move risked weakening global efforts to end impunity and undermining the pursuit of justice. ​It urged the three countries to remain ​committed to ⁠the statute.
• The statement also said the decision to withdraw does not release a state from obligations incurred while it was ⁠still ​a party to the treaty.