\n Chad has become the fifth country to begin a formal withdrawal process from the International Criminal Court in recent months, following Venezuela, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. <\/p>\n
Issued on: 28\/07\/2026 – 10:46Modified: 28\/07\/2026 – 10:47<\/p>\n
3 min Reading time\n<\/p>\n
A statement issued by a Chadian government spokesperson on Monday said\u00a0Chad<\/a> had notified the United Nations Secretariat of “its sovereign decision to withdraw from the Rome Statute<\/a> and the International Criminal Court (ICC<\/a>)”.<\/p>\n Chad’s decision, it said, followed “an in-depth review of the functioning of the International Criminal Court since it began operating in 2002, as well as its record whose effectiveness remains limited and uneven”.<\/p>\n It also pointed to the ICC’s “judicial activity focused on the Global South in general and the African continent in particular, which have become the willing victims of the ICC’s political instrumentalisation”.<\/p>\n Of the 13 investigations opened by the court since it came into force, nine concern African states, and only four in other regions of the world “but without any concrete progress”, the Chadian government said.<\/p>\n “The court has only seven people in custody, six of whom are being prosecuted in African situations,” it added.<\/p>\n The decision comes amid claims by national and international organisations of Chad’s suspected involvement in the conflict in neighbouring Sudan<\/a>.<\/p>\n Fifth state to leave <\/p>\n Chad\u00a0announced its withdrawal on Monday after Venezuela<\/a>\u00a0on Friday announced that it had\u00a0started the formal procedure to withdraw.<\/p>\n The ICC had been conducting investigations into allegations of crimes against humanity by the previous Venezuelan government.\u00a0Like Chad, Venezuela’s authorities accused the court of disproportionately focusing on non-Western states.<\/p>\n In early July, the ICC confirmed that the three\u00a0military-led African countries\u00a0in the Sahel<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger \u2013 formally began their withdrawal, which will take a year to go into effect.<\/p>\n As Sahel states withdraw from ICC, NGOs warn of \u2018impunity\u2019 over war crimes<\/a><\/p>\n Chad’s announcement also came days after 82 of the court’s 125 member states voted to dismiss Karim Khan<\/a> as\u00a0prosecutor, for serious misconduct.<\/p>\n That triggered an election process for a new prosecutor but a vote is not expected before the new year.\u00a0In the interim, the office of the prosecutor will be run by the current deputy prosecutors, Nazhat Shameen Khan from Fiji and Senegal<\/a>‘s Mame Mandiaye Niang<\/a>.<\/p>\n After Khan’s removal from office, the court said it will continue to carry out its mandate.<\/p>\n “The ICC remains firmly committed to advancing accountability and delivering justice for victims of crimes that deeply shock the conscience of humanity,” it said.<\/p>\n Karim Khan: Forensic ICC prosecutor with a tarnished legacy<\/a><\/p>\n US campaign <\/p>\n According to a statement on Chad’s foreign minister’s website last week, the decision to quit the ICC follows a request by the United States.<\/p>\n It said the US deputy secretary of state for African affairs had called on the Chadian government to reconsider its ICC membership during a telephone call last Thursday.<\/p>\n “The American side expressed its concerns about the functioning of this institution and called on Chad to review its accession to the Rome Statute,” the statement said.<\/p>\n Washington<\/a> wants the ICC to drop its arrest warrants against Israeli leaders over Gaza and to stop investigating alleged crimes involving US troops.<\/p>\n Senegal calls on US to withdraw sanctions against ICC magistrates<\/a><\/p>\n The US launched a diplomatic campaign this year to undermine the ICC, which court observers say could make it hard to find a replacement for Khan.<\/p>\n “Who is now going to want to nominate for a position that has such challenges, because they know they will automatically be sanctioned by the US,” Melanie O’Brien, professor of international law at the University of Western Australia, told Reuters news agency.\u00a0<\/p>\n The European Union<\/a> and several of the court’s biggest financial contributors, including the Netherlands<\/a> and Japan<\/a>, have\u00a0voiced support for the court\u00a0and concern over the US position but have not announced any practical steps to shore up the institution.<\/p>\n \u00a0(with newswires)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chad has become the fifth country to begin a formal withdrawal process from the International Criminal Court 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