Would it serve Africa's best interests if the ICC ceased to exist? Pallo Jordan, ANC Today, Vol 13 No 24, 17 October 2013 A well-known fact of African politics is that Kikuyu chauvinism has denied any candidate of Luo descent the Presidency of Kenya. Months of ethnically defined violence ensued when it appeared that the 2007 elections were rigged. The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) carried out investigations that led to charges being laid against Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and Vice-President William Ruto. The proceedings against Ruto were due to resume this week. Quite reasonably, the Kenyan government pleaded that, in the light of the recent massacre in Nairobi, Ruto is desperately required at his post, and requested a postponement. In an inexplicable slap in the face of the bereaved Kenyan nation, the ICC turned that request down. The ICC was envisaged as a court of last resort to complement the work of member states' criminal courts. If and when the law courts of a particular state were unable or unwilling to handle a matter, the ICC would intervene. States, non-governmental organisations, the United Nations (UN) Security Council and individuals may initiate the investigation of alleged war crimes. The ICC is investigating eight cases in Africa at present. Five were initiated by the concerned states, two were referred to the court by the Security Council, and one is due to the ICC prosecutors' intervention. The African Union will meet today to reassess its attitude to the ICC. The meeting reflects a growing perception among certain African statesmen that the continent is being unfairly targeted. They point to the deeds committed by the more powerful states. And the ICC's lack of compassion towards a reasonable Kenyan request, some assert, confirms its bias. The ICC was established in 2002 after the required 60 state parties adhered to the Rome Statute of 1998. The statute was crafted in the UN General Assembly which convened the conference in Rome, where it was finally adopted, after four years of haggling. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) states were among the keenest advocates of the court. Dullah Omar, South Africa's Minister of Justice at the time, helped to draft the General Assembly resolutions establishing the court. They visualised an ICC that was an internationally recognised tribunal with competence to investigate and prosecute crimes against humanity. As victims of the system of apartheid, which the General Assembly had declared a crime against humanity, it was unsurprising that the Southern African states and South Africa's democratic government would support the creation of such a tribunal. The subcontinent at that time was recovering from three decades of liberation wars whose dying embers still glowed in South Eastern Angola. Undeniably, terrible acts of brutality have been committed in intra-African conflicts since 1998. The ICC, many hoped, would be a deterrent against such criminal conduct. SADC advocated and supported the ICC because experience had taught us that an international tribunal, with the power to enforce norms of civilised and humane conduct, even during armed conflicts, is a vitally necessary constraint on the conduct of states and governments. The victorious allied powers tried to establish standards and norms of government conduct in armed conflicts at the end of the Second World War. The international community was horrified when the true extent of the Holocaust became known and tried the Nazi leaders and lesser figures in Adolf Hitler's regime. The Nuremburg trials declared the actions inspired by the Nazis' racist ideology criminal. The Japanese war crimes tribunals, conducted exclusively by the US, in which the leaders of Japan's military government faced trial, were even more rigorous than Nuremburg. Japanese corporations that had fuelled, equipped and benefited from the war were held culpable, alongside government and military leaders. The ICC commenced its work with such precedents already established. A total of 120 states voted in support of it when the Rome Statute on the International Criminal Court was adopted in July 1998. There were 21 abstentions and seven voted against. The list of naysayers makes interesting reading: China, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Qatar, the US and Yemen. Of 54 member states of the Organisation of African Unity, forerunner of the African Union, 34 supported the establishment of the ICC. Libya was the only African state to vote no. Sudan subsequently joined Libya, notifying the Security Council it would not be bound by the commitments made by former representatives. It is deeply regrettable that African states and governments, once keen advocates of the ICC, now regard it with scepticism. African states initiated the majority of ICC investigations because Africans and their governments want to hold those behind these dreadful acts accountable. The perpetrators of genocide in Rwanda were tried by Africans in an African court. That the ICC has not lived up to expectations of some African leaders cannot be an argument for its closure. Perhaps the ICC has damaged its credibility by treating Kenya so insensitively. But would it serve Africa's best interests if the ICC ceased to exist? . Pallo Jordan is an ANC NEC member From: http://www.anc.org.za/docs/anctoday/2013/at24.htm#art3 -- -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. 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