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- miltonlaw: Africa and the Concept of Positive Complementarity The answer to the allegation that Africa is inappropriately targeted by international criminal court could as well lie in the sui generis concept of positive complementary. My doctoral thesis research title is: The international criminal court and positive complementarity: Institutional and legal framework. I. Introduction It is the... (more)
- almariam: Saving the ICC: A Proposal for a Witness Protection Program Justice delayed, again? In late January of this year, I wrote a commentary entitled, “Kenyatta at the ICC: Is Justice Deferred, Justice Denied?” In that commentary I openly expressed my angst over the endless delays, postponements and backpedalling talk about “false evidence” and “lying witnesses” surrounding the Uhuru Kenyatta trial at The Hague. I felt there was perhaps... (more)
- almariam: Kenyatta at the ICC: Is Justice Deferred, Justice Denied? I am getting a little jittery over the repeated delays, postponements and all the backpedalling talk about “false evidence” and “lying witnesses” in the Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta International Criminal court trial. I don’t want to say I smell a rat but I feel like I am getting a whiff. Is the stage being set to let Kenyatta off the ICC hook? There has been feverish... (more)
- Marius_: How can we choose to hide behind claims of moral inappropriateness when - in fact - these crimes are indeed taking place on sacred African soil!? Yes! It is imperative that the ICC should, despite the influence of the 'Powers-that-be', focus on initiating proceedings on crimes within its jurisdiction taking place outside the African continent, so as to meet the dictates of fairness. But that is not to say that the ongoing cases in Africa are without their individual basis. The victims of those... (more)
- ecalmeyer: Mass African Withdrawal from the ICC: Far from Reality Introduction One hundred and twenty two countries are States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (“ICC”).1 Thirty-four are in Africa, making African states the largest continental bloc of ICC signatory countries.2 Many African nations believe that the International Criminal... (more)
- John Litwin: The International Criminal Court and African Politics Introduction Given the recent vote by the Kenyan parliament to withdraw from the Rome Statute,1 it is necessary to examine the non-meritorious, political reasons that may be motivating the proposed African boycott of the International Criminal Court (ICC).2 Comprising over a quarter of all member-states,3 a withdrawal from the ICC by... (more)
- Jenevieve Discar: Potential ICC Responses to Kenya’s Proposed Withdrawal Introduction Kenya’s recent, precedent-setting vote to withdraw from the ICC highlights the critical nature of this debate; regardless of whether the ICC is actually unfairly biased towards Africa or not, the perceived bias is greatly affecting its reputation and its ability to operate effectively. Kenya’s withdrawal should... (more)
- emilygiven: Complementarity: Too Stringent a Test? While critics claim that the ICC’s focus on crimes committed in Africa is inappropriate, its defenders cite the Prosecutor’s preliminary examinations of non-African crimes as evidence to the contrary. Because the Office of the Prosecutor is evaluating situations outside Africa with an even hand, defenders argue, the Court exhibits no bias against Africa. Several preliminary examinations of non-African... (more)
- karen.kwok: Syria: a Case Study of the ICC’s Limited Jurisdiction Since its inception in 2002, all situations under investigation or prosecution have been in Africa. Critics have claimed that the ICC’s focus on Africa has been inappropriate. In particular, the ICC has been accused of having an African-bias in situation selection. However, such critiques regarding ICC’s unfair targeting of Africa... (more)
- kennygbite: The question “Is the International Criminal Court targeting Africa inappropriately?” is influenced obviously by the fact that all the cases so far being handled by the ICC fall within Africa as if crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court are not taking place in other continents. However, assuming Africans so far indicted by the Court actually committed these crimes, should the question still arise simply because their counterparts in other continents are not being investigated nor prosecuted... (more)
Comment on the Africa Question: “Is the International Criminal Court targeting Africa inappropriately?”
Africa Needs the ICC
Africa has been struggling since the last five decades to overcome problems of armed conflicts, bad governance, poverty and under-development. In many countries in the continent, the promises and expectations of independence are all but gone, and replaced by despair. Since 1960, Africa has recorded over thirty armed conflicts and wars . There are numerous causes of these wars and armed conflicts, and there have also been many attempts to proffer solutions , with partial success. What all these point to is: Africa needs the ICC, if the court can contribute to conflict transformation in the continent. So core issues are: Will Africa benefit from ICC interventions? Or is the ICC merely complicating conflict transformation in the continent ?
In view of the nature of conflicts in Africa, as pointed out by Professor Kamari Maxine Clarke, can the ICC mechanism contribute to conflict transformation? Also, taking into cognizance, the affluence and influence that are associated with leadership in Africa, will the ICC mechanism provide sufficient deterrence mechanism to stop future perpetrators of humanitarian atrocities from taking up arms .
If the court’s interventions will contribute positively to conflict transformation and development in the continent, then Africa should develop ways and means of working with the ICC. This means a system of “mutual and beneficial cooperation” that will promote the interests of both parties in the continent, which basically should be to put an end to impunity and contribute to conflict transformation. It is too early to tell if the ICC is wrongly targeting Africa. Thirteen years on the job, two referrals from the Security Council, four self-referrals from African States, and one proprio motu action by the Prosecutor, may not be conclusive statistics to emphatically state that the ICC is unduly after Africa. But the imbalance in the selection of cases is a dangerous trend.
The ICC will lose credibility if it is unduly targeting Africa, and will only have itself to blame in the long run, since it is a gamble that will only provide short term but not long term result. In all, one of the key issues is: what does the victims of the numerous conflicts and wars in Africa want?