Ouagadougou: Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, united within the Confederation of Sahel States (AES), announced Monday their immediate withdrawal from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), denouncing a jurisdiction that has become “an instrument of neocolonial repression in the hands of imperialism.”
According to Burkina Information Agency, the announcement was made Monday evening on Burkinabe public television by Burkinabe government spokesman Gilbert Pingdwende Ouedraogo, who read a joint statement. The International Criminal Court has demonstrated “selective justice,” failing to prosecute serious crimes while targeting certain actors outside the “closed circle of beneficiaries of international impunity,” the minister said.
Gilbert Pingdwende Ouedraogo stated that the AES will now prioritize endogenous mechanisms for peace, justice, and the protection of human rights, in accordance with its societal values. The confederation, however, reaffirms its readiness to cooperate in other appropriate frameworks, while thanking the UN and the Member States for their support.
As a reminder, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger had respectively ratified the Rome Statute of the ICC in 2004, 2000, and 2002.