AP Explains: Why African states have started leaving the ICC
- SitiTalkBlog
- Oct 27, 2016
- 1 min read
Photo Credit: Public Domain
Seattle Times reports that, "...three African states — South Africa, Burundi and Gambia — have made official decisions to leave. Gambia announced its decision late Tuesday. Concerns are high that more African countries now will act on years of threats to pull out amid accusations that the court unfairly focuses on the continent."
"Only Africans have been charged in the six ICC cases that are ongoing or about to begin, though preliminary ICC investigations have been opened elsewhere in the world, in places like Colombia and Afghanistan. Experts point out that most of the ICC cases in Africa were referred to the court by African countries themselves or the U.N. Security Council. One case that caused considerable anger among African leaders was the ICC’s pursuit of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta for his alleged role in the deadly violence that erupted after his country’s 2007 presidential election. The case later collapsed amid prosecution claims of interference with witnesses and non-cooperation by Kenyan authorities...."
