NETHERLANDS

Uncertain future for International Criminal Court

July 1, 2017

Fifteen years after it came into force, the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague is under fire from the African Union (AU), which is angry about the court’s focus on Africa.

The BBC reports that the bloc called for the mass withdrawal of member states from the ICC at its annual meeting in January. The non-binding decision to leave could remove as many as 34 African states from the court of last resort for the prosecution of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

South Africa, Burundi and Gambia signalled their intention to leave in 2016. They accuse the ICC of undermining their sovereignty and unfairly targeting Africans. The ICC denies the allegation, insisting it is pursuing justice for victims of war crimes in Africa.

Though it has opened procedures to deal with crimes on other continents, the world’s first permanent international criminal court has only brought charges against Africans. The court’s pursuit of sitting African leaders, including Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir and Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta, has hardened AU leaders’ opposition to the ICC.

Observers see the dispute leading to a push in the United Nations for reforming the court, or the possible creation of a Pan-African branch.

The court’s founding treaty, the Rome Statute, came into force on Jul 1, 2002. As of Mar 2016, 124 states were party to it. The loss of all, or most, of the African members would undermine the credibility of a body that had a shaky start after several of the most powerful states refused to join. The United States, China, Israel, Russia and others either refused to sign, failed to ratify the treaty, or initially signed but later removed their signatures from it.

#22047 Published: February 10, 2017