A growing number of African countries are withdrawing from the International Criminal Court. The question many are asking is: Why?
Chad is the latest country to announce plans to withdraw from the court, which was established to prosecute individuals accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In a statement on 27 July, the government of Idriss Déby Itno said the court’s effectiveness is “limited and uneven” with its activities concentrating on African countries.
It noted that out of the 13 investigations launched by the court since it came into force in 2002, nine are related to African countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, the Central African Republic, Sudan, Kenya, Libya, Côte d’Ivoire, and Mali.
The decision by Chad comes after Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger also started the process to pull out of the ICC, which they described as an “instrument of neocolonial repression in the hands of imperialism.”
In early July, the governing body of the Hague-based court expressed concern over the move by the three West African countries.
Allegations of bias
Officials of the court have in the past denied allegations of bias, saying many African cases were voluntary self-referrals by the countries themselves.
Africa leads ICC membership. 33 of 125 Rome Statute signatories are African states, the highest regional total.
According to the Rome Statute, the treaty establishing the court, any country planning to withdraw from it must give one year’s prior notice.
Outside Africa, Venezuela has also given its withdrawal notice.
Burundi was the first country to withdraw. That was in 2017. Then the Philippines followed suit in 2019.
South Africa and The Gambia had submitted withdrawal letters but later reversed their separate decisions.
The latest wave of planned withdrawals is part of the multiple crises the ICC is facing.
Chief prosecutor dismissed
On 24 July, member states of the court voted to dismiss Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan following allegations of misconduct involving a female member of his staff.
Khan denies the accusations, vowing to challenge “the lawfulness and fairness of the decision.”
This comes as the court faces strong opposition from the US and Israel, following its 2024 arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over Tel Aviv’s war on Gaza.
Both the US and Israel are not signatories to the Rome Statute, with the Secretary of State Marco Rubio vowing in July that the US will dismantle the ICC ‘’brick by brick’’.
