Chad becomes the fifth country to withdraw from the ICC recently amid rising US pressure and accusations of bias.<\/p>\n
Published On 27 Jul 202627 Jul 2026<\/p>\n
Chad has joined a growing list of countries as it announced plans to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC).<\/p>\n
The military government declared on Monday that Chad had begun the process to leave the court, which prosecutes war crimes and other violations of humanitarian law and is based in The Hague in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n
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The northern African nation is the fifth state in recent months to quit the international tribunal, as the United States continues to increase pressure on the institution.<\/p>\n
Chad\u2019s government said that the court\u2019s effectiveness was \u201climited\u201d and uneven and condemned what it said was a concentration of its activities on African countries.<\/p>\n
Of the 13 investigations opened by the court since it came into force, nine concern African states, as opposed to four opened in other regions of the world \u201cbut without any concrete progress,\u201d the government statement said.<\/p>\n
Chad\u2019s decision follows neighbouring Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, which also have military governments. The Sahel states jointly announced<\/a> their withdrawal in September, accusing the court of selective justice.<\/p>\n Declaration of war<\/p>\n As well as the claims of bias, the withdrawals come amid increasing US pressure on the international court.<\/p>\n Washington\u2019s longstanding antipathy has only grown since the ICC issued arrest warrants<\/a> against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-Defence Minister Yoav Gallant in 2024.<\/p>\n The Trump administration now appears to have openly declared war on the institution. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week that the US would wage a campaign<\/a> to \u201csystematically disable\u201d the ICC\u2019s ability to function.<\/p>\n Chad was the second state to announce its withdrawal since that statement. Venezuela<\/a> said on Friday that it was pulling out, also accusing the court of \u201cbias\u201d.<\/p>\n Interim President Delcy Rodriguez essentially governs the country with the nod of the US.<\/p>\n Chad\u2019s Foreign Ministry shared a statement on its official website saying that the decision to quit follows a request by Washington.<\/p>\n It said the US deputy secretary of state for African affairs had pressed the government to reconsider its membership during a phone call on Thursday.<\/p>\n \u201cThe American side expressed its concerns about the functioning of this institution and called on Chad to review its accession to the Rome Statute,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n