Chad has announced plans to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), saying after a review that the Court’s effectiveness has been “limited and uneven” since it began operating in 2002 and that its investigations disproportionately target African countries. The announcement, made on July 27, 2026, makes Chad the latest nation to begin the withdrawal process after Venezuela, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
The Chadian Government said nine of the ICC’s 13 investigations have focused on Africa, while only four have been opened elsewhere with little progress. It also noted that six of the court’s seven detainees are linked to African cases.
The announcement comes days after ICC member states voted on Friday to dismiss prosecutor Karim Khan over disputed sexual assault allegations, which he denies. Chad also disclosed that the United States had urged it to reconsider its ICC membership during a telephone call last week, although Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Sabre Fadoul insisted the decision was not made at Washington’s request. Meanwhile, Venezuela cited alleged bias for its own withdrawal, while Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have described the ICC as an “instrument of neocolonial repression”.