Strike on The Hague: Russia’s allies in Africa are leaving the ISS en masse

Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger — three West African countries currently under the rule of military regimes — have announced their immediate withdrawal from the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

This was reported by the BBC, citing a joint statement by these states, which contains harsh criticism of the court.

According to the junta leaders, the ICC “is not fulfilling its functions” and, in their opinion, has turned into “an instrument of external pressure and neo-colonial oppression,” unable to hold accountable the real perpetrators of international crimes — in particular, genocide or military aggression.

The statement emphasizes that the countries see no point in further cooperation with an institution that is believed in the region to be acting selectively and politically biased.

This demarche takes on a special context given that all three countries have sharply intensified relations with Russia in recent years, whose President Vladimir Putin is himself under an arrest warrant issued by the ICC.

All three states experienced military coups between 2020 and 2023.

Their armed forces regularly feature in reports of possible crimes against civilians.

Government structures are effectively under the control of army juntas, which position themselves as opponents of Western influence.

In the statement, African rulers also announced plans to create “their own regional mechanisms” to investigate crimes, maintain peace and ensure justice – without the participation of The Hague.

The International Criminal Court has not yet commented on the decisions of these three states.

As reported, Russian companies have stepped up their search for young women from Africa to fill the labor shortage . At the same time, fears are growing around the world that some of these workers may be involved in the production of military equipment for the war against Ukraine.

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