Eronda
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- Dec 16, 2025
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Uganda has threatened to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) if the institution investigates or indicts Ugandans, following the United States’ announcement of sanctions against the court over its pursuit of American citizens and other political and military leaders.
Ambassador Adonia Ayebare, Uganda’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, said Kampala would not hesitate to leave what he described as an increasingly rogue institution, accusing it of undermining national sovereignty and disproportionately targeting African officials.
“The ICC has lost its way, from blatantly undermining Sovereignty of its member states by exclusively targeting African officials abandoning its original global mandate,” Ayebare said in a statement responding to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s announcement on October 9.
He also accused some member states of targeting senior court officials from the Global South, including former prosecutor Karim Khan, over the exercise of their prosecutorial independence.
“Uganda will not hesitate to leave this increasingly rogue institution should it ever investigate or indict our people,” Ayebare said, adding that Kampala would continue advocating reforms as a member of the ICC Bureau.
The statement signals a possible shift in Uganda’s relationship with the court, although the government has not announced a formal withdrawal. Uganda ratified the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, in June 2002 and referred the situation involving the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the conflict in northern Uganda to the court in January 2004.
The ICC opened investigations in July 2004 into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Uganda from July 1, 2002. The investigation was formally closed on December 1, 2023, although proceedings against individuals arising from the situation have continued.
The court’s work in Uganda included the prosecution of former LRA commander Dominic Ongwen, who was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity and sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2021.
Uganda’s cooperation with the court has therefore been significant, even as its government has periodically criticised the ICC over its handling of African cases.
The country has also had representation on the ICC bench through Ugandan judge Solomy Balungi Bossa, who has served as an ICC judge and participated in its judicial divisions. The court’s current proceedings concerning Uganda, however, are assigned to a chamber comprising judges from different countries.
Ayebare’s intervention comes as the Trump administration intensifies pressure on the ICC, accusing it of exceeding its jurisdiction and threatening American sovereignty.
In his statement, Rubio said the United States would impose sanctions to restrict transactions with the court, arguing that it had failed to address Washington’s concerns.
“President Trump will never allow the International Criminal Court to prosecute Americans,” Rubio said. “Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC.”
The US government has long opposed the court’s authority over citizens of countries that have not joined the Rome Statute. Washington is not a party to the treaty, unlike Uganda and the court’s 124 other member states.
The dispute has intensified over investigations involving American military personnel, the court’s Afghanistan investigation and arrest warrants issued against Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over alleged crimes in Gaza.
Washington argues that the ICC cannot legitimately exercise jurisdiction over Americans and other nationals of non-member states in circumstances it considers unlawful. The court, however, maintains that its jurisdiction is determined by the Rome Statute and applicable international law.
The latest sanctions follow earlier punitive measures by the Trump administration against ICC officials. The court has rejected such measures as attempts to interfere with its independent judicial work.
The timing of the latest announcement also attracted attention because it came only hours after former ICC judge Navi Pillay was awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for her work promoting peace and international law.
Pillay, a South African jurist, served as an ICC judge from 2003 to 2008 and later as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014. She also presided over the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, where her work helped establish important precedents on sexual violence as a crime of genocide.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee cited Pillay’s contribution to international justice and the rule of law, noting that judges and institutions responsible for international law were facing growing political attacks.
Although the proximity of the Nobel announcement and the US sanctions has drawn attention, Washington has not established that the award prompted its decision. Rubio’s statement instead focused on the administration’s longstanding objections to the ICC’s jurisdiction and its investigations.
For Uganda, the latest dispute presents a delicate question about its continued participation in an institution to which it voluntarily referred cases involving alleged atrocities committed on its territory.
Ayebare said Kampala would continue advocating what he called common-sense reforms while serving on the ICC Bureau, suggesting that Uganda would pursue changes within the institution for now.
A withdrawal would require Uganda to follow the Rome Statute’s formal withdrawal procedure. Under Article 127, a state party may withdraw by notifying the United Nations Secretary-General, with the withdrawal taking effect one year after receipt of the notification unless a later date is specified.
Such a move would not automatically erase obligations or matters arising while Uganda was a member, nor would it necessarily terminate proceedings already under way.
For now, Ayebare’s statement amounts to a warning rather than a formal notice of withdrawal. It nevertheless places Uganda among the countries questioning the court’s direction at a time when its authority, independence and relationship with powerful states are facing renewed international scrutiny
Source: Nile post
