GENEVA - A UN expert today urged Mali to reconsider its plan to withdraw from the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court (ICC), warning of serious consequences.
"Withdrawing from the ICC would be a betrayal of victims of gross human rights violations and abuses as well as serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in Mali," said Eduardo González, the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Mali.
González warned that such a move would embolden those who have committed and continue to commit atrocities, leading them to believe that they have impunity. In his report to the Human Rights Council in March 2025, the expert noted that according to Malian officials, security conditions hindered investigations and prosecutions, or considered them inconvenient and harmful to the morale of the troops. The expert concluded that Mali's inability or unwillingness to conduct genuine investigations and prosecutions was precisely why the ICC remained crucial in Mali. He recommended that the ICC continue its investigation into serious crimes committed in Mali since 2012.
In a joint statement dated 22 September 2025 and signed by Mali's Transitional President, General Assimi Goita, on behalf of the three members of the Confederation of Sahel States, Mali announced its immediate withdrawal from the Rome Statute of the ICC. The statement accused the ICC of being "an example of selective justice", adding that "the ICC has proven itself incapable of handling and prosecuting proven war crimes, crimes against humanity, crimes of genocide, and crimes of aggression".
The expert noted that while the 22 September statement refers to an immediate withdrawal, it does not have any legal effect and does not protect those who have committed atrocities in Mali.
Mali signed the Rome Statute on 17 July 1998 and ratified it on 16 August 2000. On 18 July 2012, Malian authorities referred the situation in Mali to the ICC with respect to alleged crimes committed "since the month of January 2012" with no end date specified.
According to article 127 of the Rome Statute, a State's withdrawal from the Rome Statute only takes effect one year after the official notification to the UN Secretary-General. The ICC retains jurisdiction regarding alleged crimes that occurred in the territory of a State, or were committed by its nationals while it was a Party to the Rome Statute. As a consequence, the ICC may exercise its jurisdiction regarding crimes that occurred on the territory of Mali, or were committed by nationals of Mali, even after the country's withdrawal becomes effective as long as the investigation or prosecution relate to the crimes committed during the time Mali was a State Party. Mali also has a duty to cooperate with the Court for the duration of this investigation and any subsequent proceedings.
To date, the ICC has convicted two individuals regarding the situation in Mali. Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi was convicted in 2016 of a war crime consisting in intentionally directing attacks against religious and historic buildings in Timbuktu in June and July 2012, and for which he was sentenced to nine years' imprisonment. Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz was convicted in 2024 for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Timbuktu, northern Mali, between 2 April 2012 and 29 January 2013, and for which he was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment. At that time, the area was controlled by the violent extremist groups Ansar Dine and Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb. The ICC awarded reparations to victims in both cases. In the Al Mahdi case, the Trust Fund for Victims of the ICC delivered reparations to individuals and to the city of Timbuktu as a collective beneficiary. However, in the Al Hassan case, if Mali were to withdraw from the Court, the reparations process would not begin, with dire consequences for the victims.
On 21 June 2024, the ICC made public an arrest warrant against Iyad Ag Ghaly for war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in northern Mali between January 2012 and January 2013, while he was the leader of Ansar Dine. The arrest warrant was initially issued under seal on 18 July 2017. In a statement dated 25 March 2019, the ICC Prosecutor at the time stressed that her office remained seized of the situation in Mali, and would continue to closely follow the events in central Mali and in other parts of the country.
"Mali's intended withdrawal from the ICC would signal the authorities' unwillingness to fight impunity and ensure justice. It would be a betrayal of Malian victims, " González said.
