Chad to Withdraw from International Criminal Court
Chad has announced that it will begin the process of withdrawing from the International Criminal Court, becoming the latest country to move away from the Hague-based tribunal.
In a statement released on Monday, the Chadian government said the ICC’s effectiveness is “limited and uneven” and accused the court of focusing disproportionately on African countries. “The court has only seven people in custody, six of whom are being prosecuted in African situations,” the statement said.
Chad joins Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Venezuela in starting the process of quitting the court. The announcement makes Chad the fifth country in recent months to begin withdrawal proceedings.
The decision comes amid allegations of Chad’s suspected involvement in the war in neighbouring Sudan between the army and paramilitary forces. Last week, a post on the Chadian foreign minister’s Facebook page suggested that the United States had pressured N’Djamena to reconsider its ICC membership. The minister later denied that the US was behind the withdrawal, stating instead that Chad “no longer felt in step with the Court as it currently operates.”
The ICC prosecutes individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Earlier this month the United States said it was launching a campaign against the Court, describing it as “an intolerable threat to US sovereignty.” The US Bureau of African Affairs welcomed Chad’s decision, stating that Washington supports nations “reclaiming their sovereignty from this flawed institution.”
The withdrawals is part of an emerging pattern of criticism from several African governments, which have long argued that the court has disproportionately targeted the continent while showing limited capacity to prosecute cases from other regions.
The formal withdrawal process requires a notification to the United Nations Secretary-General and takes effect one year later, during which the country remains bound by its existing obligations under the Rome Statute.
