By Ebuka Onyekwelu, Ph.D
The trio of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso have formally withdrawn their membership of the International Criminal Court – ICC, at the Hague, Netherlands. This move has reduced the ICC global membership from 125 to 122. In Africa, only about 33 sovereign states are members of the ICC. Now, there are only 30 African member states. The Republic of Mali, the Republic of Niger, and Burkina Faso are under military rule and are faced with heavy insecurity as Jihadists threaten to overrun, especially in Mali and Niger.
The withdrawal of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso from the ICC comes nearly one year after they jointly rejected the organization, calling it a colonial appendage. The three West African countries called the ICC “Instrument of neo-colonialist repression” in September, 2025. However, the ICC received their “instrument of membership withdrawal” on June 18, 2026, signaling a formalization of their rejection of the ICC. While acknowledging receipt of this withdrawal notice, the ICC also noted that Niger would have to fulfill its obligation till its formal withdrawal, which is effected one year after the official notice of withdrawal. Nothing was said about Mali and Burkina Faso.
Recently, there have been multiple reports about human rights abuses and extrajudicial executions in Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso. In April 2026, Burkina Faso rejected reports by Human Rights Watch – HRW, that more than 1, 800 of its citizens have been murdered by the country’s military government. The HRW referred to the story as an act of crime against humanity, which must be answered. However, Burkina Faso dismissed the report as “unfounded claims.”
In 2025, the three countries also jointly withdrew their membership of the Economic Community of West African States – ECOWAS, following pressure from Nigeria, Ghana, and other allies on the military junta to hand over power to civilians. In April 2026, Captain Ibrahim Traore, the military Head of State of Burkina Faso, admonished his countrymen to “forget about democracy.”
This latest move of withdrawal from the ICC might be part of an elaborate plan by the military leaders to isolate their countries while consolidating their hold on the governance of their countries. The three countries have also formed what they call the Alliance of Sahel States – AES, which they said is their own mechanism to ensure “peace and justice” in their countries.
