Mali - September 2025

On 22 September, the military governments of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger jointly announced their immediate withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC), calling it an ‘instrument of neo-colonial repression’. While the withdrawal will only take legal effect after one year, human rights groups warn the move significantly weakens access to justice, especially as credible domestic mechanisms for investigating atrocity crimes are lacking. The announcement follows a series of joint withdrawals by the three countries, including their coordinated exits the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in January 2025. ICC investigations into alleged war crimes in Mali are ongoing, and victims’ groups in Burkina Faso and Mali have recently filed complaints implicating national armies and foreign mercenaries in serious abuses. The three governments say they will instead pursue ‘indigenous mechanisms’ for justice, though observers say such systems do not yet exist in practice, raising concerns of rising impunity.

Sources: Bèki Takè, British Broadcasting Corporation, Human Rights Watch, United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, Radio France Internationale, International Federation for Human Rights

On 3 September, al-Qaeda-linked Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) declared a blockade on Kayes and Nioro, key western regions that provide critical trade corridors linking Bamako to Senegal, Guinea, and Côte d’Ivoire. On 14 September, JNIM militants attacked a convoy of over 100 vehicles under military escort, destroying at least 40 fuel tankers. The blockade has disrupted Mali’s fuel and goods imports, causing shortages and price spikes that threaten livelihoods and basic services in Bamako and other cities. Analysts warn that prolonged supply cuts could deepen economic hardship and trigger social unrest. The blockade marks an unprecedented extension of jihadist operations into areas nearly 1,000 km from their usual strongholds, testing the state’s capacity to protect critical supply routes and sustain essential trade. 

Sources: International Crisis Group, Reuters, Jeune Afrique, Institute for Security Studies - Africa