FIVE THINGS ABOUT THE ICC

1 THREE COUNTRIES PULLING OUT Gambia became the third African country to say it will pull out of the International Criminal Court this week, joining South Africa and Burundi. Concerns are high that more African countries now will act on years of threats to pull out amid accusations that the court unfairly focuses on the continent.

2 124 MEMBER STATES Many in the international community cheered when the treaty to create the ICC, the Rome Statute, was adopted in 1998 as a way to pursue some of the world’s worst atrocities: genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Not all countries signed on, and as of last week, the treaty had 124 member states.

3 ONLY AFRICAN COUNTRIES Only Africans have been charged in the six ICC cases that are ongoing or about to begin, though preliminary ICC investigations have been opened elsewhere in the world, in places like Colombia and Afghanistan. Experts point out that most of the ICC cases in Africa were referred to the court by African countries themselves or the UN Security Council.

4 THE TRAVELS OF AL-BASHIR Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, above, has become a symbol of the limitations facing the ICC. Al-Bashir has been wanted by the tribunal for alleged crimes in Sudan’s Darfur region since 2005. Since then, however, al-Bashir has visited a number of ICC member states, including Malawi, Kenya, Chad and Congo.

5 ONE-YEAR WAIT Withdrawal doesn’t happen when a country announces it. The country must officially notify the UN secretary general of its intention to leave, and the pullout becomes effective one year after the receipt of that notice.