US Applauds Chad’s ICC Exit, Urges More Nations to Follow

Chad announced its withdrawal on Monday, becoming the fifth country to formally begin the process of exiting the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC.

The United States has welcomed Chad’s decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), stepping up its campaign against the global tribunal by urging other member states to also leave the court.

Chad announced its withdrawal on Monday, becoming the fifth country to formally begin the process of exiting the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC.

The announcement came days after Venezuela disclosed that it had initiated its own withdrawal process following ICC investigations into alleged crimes against humanity committed under the country's previous government.

Like Chad and other countries seeking to leave the court, Venezuela has accused the ICC of disproportionately targeting non-Western nations while failing to apply the same level of scrutiny to powerful Western states and their allies.

Earlier this month, the ICC confirmed that the military-led governments of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger had also formally notified the court of their intention to withdraw. Under the Rome Statute, the withdrawal process takes one year to become effective. Niger officially submitted its notification last month.

Chad said its decision followed a request from the United States, which has intensified its opposition to the ICC in recent months.

Reacting to the move on Tuesday, Washington described the ICC as a "flawed institution" and renewed its call for member states to abandon the court.

"As Secretary Rubio has stated, the United States will never surrender its sovereignty to an unaccountable global tribunal, and we are launching a comprehensive, whole-of-government campaign to end the ICC's illegitimate overreach. We call on all other ICC members to withdraw from the Rome Statute," the U.S. government said in a statement.

The ICC currently has 125 member states. The United States has never joined the court, while Russia, China, Israel and Myanmar are also not parties to the Rome Statute.