Overview

• In a joint statement, the juntas labeled the Hague-based court "an instrument of neo-colonialist repression" and "a global example of selective justice."
• They argued the ICC is incapable of prosecuting war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and aggression.
• The governments said they will establish "indigenous mechanisms for the consolidation of peace and justice."
• The three states, now aligned in the Alliance of Sahel States after leaving ECOWAS, have distanced themselves from Western partners and sought closer ties with Russia.
• The decision comes as they battle Al-Qaeda- and Islamic State-linked insurgents and face allegations of abuses, with an ICC investigation in Mali active since 2013.