Overview
- The three military governments issued a joint statement on September 22 declaring their intention to leave the International Criminal Court.
- In the statement they argued the court exercises its powers arbitrarily and fails to pursue war crimes and crimes against humanity effectively.
- They said they would protect human rights in line with their own social and cultural values.
- Each country has undergone a recent coup, expelled French forces, and expanded security cooperation with Russia.
- Reporters and analysts link the move to their closer ties with Moscow and note the ICC’s arrest warrant for Russia’s president, though this rationale was not stated officially.