Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger out of ICC

West African countries in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have announced their withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC) because it became a “neocolonial oppression tool.”

Announcement, in a joint statement published on Monday, is the latest example of diplomatic upheaval in the West African Sahel region after eight coups between 2020 and 2023.

Three countries, governed by military officers, have separated from the economic community of West African countries (Ecowas) and formed a body known as the Sahel State Alliance.

They have also pursued defense cooperation with Western power and look for relationships that are closer to Russia.

Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have become members of the ICC, which is located in the Hague, for more than two decades.

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Countries say they view the court unable to demand war crimes, crimes against humanity, crime of aggression, and genocide.

However, they did not determine examples in which countries believed ICC failed.

These countries fight the Islamic militant group that controls the large plot of the territory and has often carried out attacks on military installations this year.

Human Rights Watch and other groups have accused militants, as well as the military and troops of Burkina Faso and Mali, the possibility of cruelty crime.