Burundi lawmakers vote to withdraw from ICC; would be 1st

FILE - In this Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015 file photo, members of Burundi's Parliament prepare for the swearing-in ceremony of President Pierre Nkurunziza, in the parliament building in Bujumbura, Burundi. Lawmakers in Burundi overwhelmingly voted Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2016 in support of a plan to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), escalating a bitter dispute with the international community over the human rights situation in the East African country, although the decision is not immediate. (AP Photo/Gildas Ngingo, File) (The Associated Press)

KIGALI, Rwanda – Lawmakers in Burundi have overwhelmingly voted in support of a plan to withdraw from the International Criminal Court.

No country has ever withdrawn from the ICC.

The move comes amid an escalating dispute with the international community over the human rights situation in this East African country.

Ninety-four out of 110 lawmakers voted in favor Wednesday.

Burundi has been plagued by violence since April 2015, when President Pierre Nkurunziza sought a third term despite protests by those who called the move unconstitutional. Hundreds of people have been killed.

The ICC has said it will investigate ongoing violence in Burundi.

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.