Niger has officially submitted its request to withdraw from the International Criminal Court. The formal step comes nine months after the country first announced its intention to leave the court, an announcement it made in September of 2025.
The decision is in line with a position taken alongside Niger's allies, Mali and Burkina Faso. All three of these states are currently under military rule, and they have moved together on the question of their relationship with the international court.
The three countries had issued a joint statement on the matter. In it, they said they would no longer recognize the authority of the International Criminal Court, setting out a shared stance against the institution.
In their rejection of the court, the states described it in pointed terms. They characterized the International Criminal Court as an instrument of neo-colonial repression, framing their departure as a stand against that perceived role.
For its part, the International Criminal Court confirmed the development in a statement of its own. The court said that it had received Niger's instrument of withdrawal on the 18th of June, marking the formal notification of the country's exit.
The court also set out the timeline that now applies. It stressed that the withdrawal will take effect one year after the notification, meaning Niger's departure will not be immediate but will follow that fixed period.
Until that date arrives, Niger's responsibilities to the court remain in place. The International Criminal Court says that Niger must continue to honor its obligations under the Rome Statute throughout the one year period before the withdrawal becomes effective.