Overview

• The three military-led governments issued a joint statement denouncing the court as an instrument of neo‑colonial, selective justice and saying they will pursue indigenous mechanisms for peace and justice.
• Withdrawal becomes effective one year after formal notification to the UN, and the joint announcement did not specify when that notice would be submitted.
• Amnesty International warned the move would weaken future avenues for accountability, noting that existing obligations remain and that the ICC’s Mali probe continues until any withdrawal takes effect.
• Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have left ECOWAS, formed the ance of SaheSahel States, curtailed security ties with Western partners and deepened relations with Russia.
• Rights groups and UN experts have reported alleged atrocities by armed groups and state forces in the Sahel, including findings that purported Malian army executions could amount to war crimes.