Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have issued a joint statement announcing their withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC), calling it an "instrument of neo-colonial oppression".
According to BBC News, the joint statement was published by the African countries on September 23.
"The ICC has proven its inability to investigate and prosecute proven war crimes, crimes against humanity, crimes of genocide and crimes of aggression," the statement said.
The leaders of the three countries stressed that they would no longer recognize the authority of the ICC. They intend to create their own mechanisms to strengthen peace and justice.
They accused the ICC of bias against African countries, since out of 33 cases since the court was established, all but one involved states from the continent.
BBC News notes that between 2020 and 2023, coups took place in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, as a result of which military juntas came to power. Their armies are accused of crimes against the civilian population.
In recent years, the aggressor country of russia has significantly strengthened relations with these countries. Its mercenaries from the private military company Wagner have provided assistance to the juntas, and also control the extraction of some minerals in these countries.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, in April of this year, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced that his country was withdrawing from the ICC.
Recall that from September 1, 2025, Ukraine became a full member of the Rome Statute of the ICC.
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