Nauru President Announces Withdrawal from International Criminal Court

UNITED NATIONS, September 23. /TASS/. David Adeang, the president of the Pacific island nation of Naoero, formerly known as Nauru, announced the country’s withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC) while addressing the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

According to the president, the ICC has lost its relevance to Naoero, which is why the country will cease participating in the court’s activities and withdraw its membership.

Adeang added that, before departing New York, he would submit the documents on the termination of Naoero’s participation in the organization’s activities to the depositary of the Rome Statute.

The day before, US President Donald Trump, speaking from the podium of the UN General Assembly, called on all countries to withdraw from the ICC, which he called a "rogue institution."

To date, five countries have announced their withdrawal from the ICC: Venezuela, Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.

The International Criminal Court was established under the 1998 Rome Statute. It is not part of the UN and is accountable to the countries that have ratified the statute. Among the states that are not parties to the statute are Russia (which signed but did not ratify), the United States (which signed but later withdrew its signature), and China (which has not signed the Statute). In 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree stating that Moscow would not become a party to the ICC. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the court "has not lived up to the hopes placed in it and has not become a truly independent body of international justice."