Law & Justice
Chad says it will withdraw from International Criminal Court over ‘uneven’ record
Chad said Monday it planned to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, arguing that the court’s work has been “limited and uneven” and too focused on African countries.
A government spokesman said the decision followed a review of the ICC’s functioning since it began operating in 2002. The government said nine of the court’s 13 investigations concern African states, while four investigations in other regions had made no “concrete progress”. It also said six of the seven people in ICC custody are being prosecuted in African situations.
A statement on Chad’s foreign minister’s official website last week said a US official had asked Chad to review its membership of the Rome Statute during a phone call.
The ICC prosecutes individuals for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger announced in September that they were leaving the court, describing it as an instrument of neo-colonial repression.
Update
Chad said the decision followed a review of the ICC’s functioning since it began operating in 2002.
The Chadian government said nine of the ICC’s 13 investigations concern African states.
The Chadian government said the ICC has seven people in custody, six of them prosecuted in African situations.
A statement on Chad’s foreign minister’s website said a US official had asked Chad to reconsider its ICC membership during a telephone call last week.
Source note: AFP news report published on 27 July 2026 at 12:03:15 UTC.
Update
A government spokesman said the decision followed an in-depth review of the ICC's functioning since it began operating in 2002.
The spokesman said Chad viewed the ICC's effectiveness as limited and uneven across different regions.
Source note: AFP news report published on 27 July 2026 at 11:04:43 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The source does not state when Chad’s withdrawal would take legal effect.
The source attributes the reported US request to a statement on Chad’s foreign minister’s website and does not include a US response.
Source
AFP news report published on .