In 2016 three African states namely South Africa, Burundi and The Gambia submitted written notifications of withdrawal from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Rome Statute) to the Secretary-General of the United Nations pursuant to Article 127 of the Rome Statute. Although the African Union welcomed and fully supported the three withdrawal notifications and considered them as ‘pioneer implementers’ of its ‘Withdrawal Strategy’, The Gambia and South Africa withdrew their notifications of withdrawal. Some other states – Kenya, Namibia and Uganda – have made threats to submit withdrawal notifications. This article examines four issues arising out of the said withdrawal notifications. First, why did the three states submit withdrawal notifications from the Rome Statute? Second, what is the impact of the three states’ withdrawal notifications? Third, is the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (or the yet-to-be-established African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples’ Rights) a suitable African regional ‘alternative’ to the ICC? Finally, what steps might be taken to avoid, or at least minimise, further withdrawals in the future and to avoid impunity of perpetrators of international crimes in states that have withdrawn from the Rome Statute?

中文翻译：

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国家退出《国际刑事法院罗马规约》的通知：南非、布隆迪和冈比亚

2016年，南非、布隆迪和冈比亚三个非洲国家根据《罗马规约》第127条向联合国秘书长提交了退出《国际刑事法院罗马规约》（罗马规约）的书面通知。尽管非洲联盟欢迎并全力支持三份撤回通知，并将其视为其“撤回战略”的“先驱实施者”，但冈比亚和南非撤回了撤回通知。其他一些国家——肯尼亚、纳米比亚和乌干达——威胁要提交撤回通知。本文研究了由上述撤回通知引起的四个问题。第一，为什么三个国家都提交了《罗马规约》的退出通知？第二，三个州的退出通知有什么影响？第三，非洲人权和人民权利法院（或尚未成立的非洲司法和人权和人民权利法院）是否是国际刑事法院合适的非洲区域“替代方案”？最后，可以采取哪些步骤来避免或至少尽量减少未来的进一步退出，并避免已退出《罗马规约》的国家的国际罪行肇事者逍遥法外？