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Niger has formally submitted its request to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), nearly nine months after announcing the move alongside fellow Sahel nations Mali and Burkina Faso.
The ICC confirmed on Tuesday that it received Niger’s instrument of withdrawal on June 18 from the government led by General Abdourahamane Tiani.
According to the court, the withdrawal will take effect on June 18, 2027, in line with ICC rules requiring a one-year notice period. Until then, Niger remains bound by its obligations as a member state.
In a statement, the court expressed regret over the decision, noting that while states have the sovereign right to join or leave international treaties, such withdrawals weaken global efforts to combat impunity for serious international crimes.
“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.
Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso jointly announced plans to leave the ICC in September 2025, describing the court as an instrument of neo-colonial repression.
All three countries are currently governed by military administrations that seized power through coups between 2020 and 2023.
The ICC did not indicate whether it had received similar formal withdrawal notifications from Mali or Burkina Faso.
The three Sahel nations continue to battle insurgencies linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, while their security forces have also faced allegations of abuses against civilians.
Established in 2002, the ICC prosecutes individuals accused of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and other grave offences when national authorities are unwilling or unable to do so.
The court currently has 125 member states. Countries such as the United States, Russia, China, Israel and Myanmar are not parties to the Rome Statute that established the tribunal.
