Burundi votes to reject International Criminal Court

Decision heightens worry over human rights abuses

KIGALI, RWANDA— Lawmakers in Burundi overwhelmingly voted Wednesday in support of a plan to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), something no country has ever done.

The decision escalates a bitter dispute with the international community over the human rights situation in the East African country, which has seen more than a year of deadly violence after President Pierre Nkurunziza made a controversial decision to pursue a third term.

No state has withdrawn from the ICC, according to the Coalition for the International Criminal Court, a non-profit that supports the court’s work.

The court prosecutes cases of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

“We are very alarmed about the trajectory the country is taking,” the UN human rights chief, Zeid Ra’ad alHussein, said.

Ninety-four out of 110 Burundi lawmakers voted in favour of the withdrawal plan.

The vote comes months after the ICC announced it would investigate the country’s ongoing violence.

The decision, which also was unanimously adopted by the Senate, now needs the president’s approval.

U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby, speaking to reporters on Wednesday, said withdrawing from the ICC would “isolate Burundi from its neighbours and the international community at a time when accountability, transparency and engaged dialogue are most needed.” Some African countries have threatened a withdrawal from the Rome Statute, the treaty that created the ICC, accusing the court of disproportionately targeting the continent.