Niger leaves the International Criminal Court months after calling it neo-colonialist

Niger has become the third country to leave the International Criminal Court (ICC), following Burundi and the Philippines.

In September 2025, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, which are all under military rule, issued a joint statement saying they would withdraw from the ICC after describing it as an “instrument of neo-colonialist repression”.

The West African country has since officially submitted its request to leave. The ICC said it received an “instrument of withdrawal” on June 18, per a statement cited by the AFP news agency. Withdrawal takes effect one year after the court has been notified.

Until that date, Niger must fulfil its obligations to the court, the ICC said while stating that it was disappointed in the West African country’s decision.

“We regret any decision to depart from the collective effort to end impunity for the most serious international crimes,” the court said in the statement.

The statement had no message about Mali or Burkina Faso.

The three countries, when announcing their withdrawal, said they wanted to set up “indigenous mechanisms for the consolidation of peace and justice,” the BBC reported.

The three states have been controlled by juntas following coups. Niger, whose democratically elected government was removed in 2023, has in recent times become isolated from the West and strengthened its ties to Russia, as reported by the BBC. The same can be said for Mali and Burkina Faso.

At the moment, Russian leader Vladimir Putin faces an arrest warrant by the ICC over the war in Ukraine. 

Operating as a court of last resort, the Hague-based ICC was set up in 2002 to investigate, prosecute, and hold people accountable for the world’s gravest crimes. 

Russia, alongside countries such as the US, Israel and China, is not part of the court’s 125-member states.