Russia to withdraw from the International Criminal Court

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to remove Russia from the International Criminal Court on Wednesday after mounting criticism of his airstrikes in Syria and 2014 annexation of Crimea.

The International Criminal Court rules on offenses including genocide and crimes against humanity. Putin's decision to withdraw notably comes on the heels of the U.N. General Assembly's human rights committee approving a resolution that condemns Russia for its occupation of Crimea. French President Francois Hollande also called Russia's bombings in Syria "war crimes" last month, The Independent notes.

Putin had signed the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court, in 2000, although the Kremlin had never ratified the agreement. The U.S., as well as China, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Turkey, never signed the treaty.

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"The International Criminal Court has not justified hopes placed upon it and did not become a truly independent and authoritative judicial body," a Russian foreign ministry spokesperson said.

Several other countries, including South Africa, have also made moves to withdraw from the criminal court. "If the State Parties, who apparently have been masquerading in recent years as countries devoted to criminal accountability, want to leave, then they should leave," Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said Wednesday. "But we are not convinced their position is based entirely on principle. Quite the opposite: It appears to aim more at protecting their leaders from prosecution."