Chad to join raft of withdrawals from International Criminal Court

What the report says

Al Jazeera, citing AFP and Reuters, reported that Chad’s military government said it has started the process of withdrawing from the International Criminal Court, making it the fifth country in recent months to move toward leaving the Hague-based tribunal. The announcement was published on July 27, 2026, and follows similar steps by Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Venezuela.

According to the report, Chad’s government argued that the ICC has had limited and uneven results and objected to what it described as a disproportionate focus on African states. The government statement said nine of the court’s 13 investigations since it began operating have involved African countries, while investigations elsewhere had not advanced in the same way. Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger — all also under military rule — had earlier announced a joint withdrawal, accusing the court of selective justice.

Al Jazeera linked the wave of withdrawals to mounting United States pressure on the ICC. The report said Washington’s hostility intensified after the court issued arrest warrants in 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. It also cited US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as saying the United States would pursue a campaign to undermine the court’s ability to operate. Chad’s Foreign Ministry said a US official had urged N’Djamena to review its membership in the Rome Statute.

The ICC was created in 2002 to prosecute individuals accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity and related grave offences. Before the latest series of exits, Al Jazeera noted that Burundi and the Philippines were the only states to have withdrawn, while Hungary announced its own departure in 2025.