The International Criminal Court is treating Africa unfairly, a senior African Union official has said, at the start of a special AU meeting to discuss a possible pull-out. Ethiopian Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the court was targeting Africa and Africans. The two-day summit comes as Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta is due to face trial at The Hague next month. He denies charges of organising violence after the 2007 elections. Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote Those leaders seeking to skirt the court are effectively looking for a license to kill, maim and oppress their own people” Archbishop Desmond Tutu On Thursday, Mr Kenyatta again asked for the charges to be dismissed. He, along with some other African leaders, argue that a serving president should not be made to face trial. The ICC has rejected a previous request that he be allowed to give evidence by video link. His deputy, William Ruto, faces similar charges, which he also denies. His trial was postponed for a week last month to allow him to return home to help deal with the terror attack on the Westgate shopping centre. Like Hermann Goering Mr Tedros, who is the current chairman of the AUs Executive Council, said the ICC was condescending towards the continent. Far from promoting justice and reconciliation... the court has transformed itself into a political instrument targeting Africa and Africans. This unfair and unjust treatment is totally unacceptable, he said. Continue reading the main story ICC in brief Fatou Bensouda Set up in 2002 Based in The Hague, the Netherlands Deals with genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes Court has been ratified by 121 countries, including 34 in Africa Chief Prosecutor is Fatou Bensouda, a Gambian DR Congo militia leader Thomas Lubanga is the only person to be convicted so far Investigating cases in Uganda, DR Congo, the Central African Republic, Sudan, Kenya, Libya, Mali and Ivory Coast Source: ICC website Q&A: International Criminal Court He said that the ICC had failed to respond to the African Unions previous complaints and said the issue should be referred to the UN Security Council. Kenyas foreign minister has denied initial reports that it is lobbying for the African Union to call for all member states to withdraw from the ICC. Analysts say several East African nations favour such a move, while there is less support in West Africa. Botswana has also publicly supported the court, while South Africas governing African National Congress has voiced criticism. Thirty-four of the AUs 54 members have signed up to the ICC. If a large number of the 34 African countries were to pull out, it would be a huge blow to the ICC, which has 122 members. Kenyas parliament has already passed a motion for the country to withdraw. Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said that withdrawing from the court would be a badge of shame. Nobel Peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu has also voiced his support for the ICC. Those leaders seeking to skirt the court are effectively looking for a license to kill, maim and oppress their own people without consequence. They believe the interests of the people should not stand in the way of their ambitions of wealth and power, he wrote in an article carried by
Posted on: Tue, 22 Oct 2013 13:38:26 +0000
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