Parties urged to commit to ICC

• The AU agreed that its members should withhold cooperation from the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the arrest and surrender of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.
• 30 African countries are parties to the Rome Statute.

• The ICC was created to bring accountability for the most serious crimes of international concern: genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

More than 130 civil society and human rights groups across the continent have called upon African states that are parties to the International Criminal Court to reaffirm their commitment and their obligation to the court.

Their concern arises from last month’s decision by the African Union that its member states “shall not cooperate” with the ICC in the arrest of President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan.

The ICC issued an arrest warrant for al-Bashir on March 4, this year, for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur.

“The AU’s decision that states should not cooperate with the ICC threatens to block justice for victims of the worst crimes committed on the continent,” said James Gondi of the Eastern Africa International Criminal Justice Initiative in Nairobi.

The lobby groups said in a statement that the AU decision was contrary to its own constitutive act, which rejects impunity.

They further noted that the AU’s decision was inconsistent with the obligations under the ICC statute that all states parties cooperate with the ICC, including in the arrest and surrender of criminal suspects.

“We therefore urge our governments to reaffirm their commitment to fighting impunity by supporting and cooperating with the ICC,” said Oby Nwankwo of Nigeria’s Civil Resource Development and Documentation Centre.

“The ICC remains a crucial court of last resort for Africa when national courts are unable or unwilling to bring justice for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes,” said Anton du Plessis of South Africa’s Institute for Security Studies.

African governments were among the first states to ratify the Rome Statute, the agreement that led to creation of the ICC in 2002.

Thirty African countries are now parties to the Rome Statute, representing a majority of AU member states.

“African states were central to the establishment of the ICC and are essential to ensuring its success,” said Georges Kapiamba of the Association Africaine de Défense des Droits de l’Homme (ASADHO) in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Civil society organisations from 30 African countries – with representation from each of Africa’s sub-regions – endorsed the statement.

“Civil society across Africa has united in its determination not to allow our leaders to forfeit Africa’s commitment to justice for victims of atrocities,” said Comfort Ero of the International Center for Transitional Justice in South Africa.

On July 3, 2009 the African Union (AU) agreed that its members should withhold cooperation from the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the arrest and surrender of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.

The decision also undermines the consensus reached by African ICC States Parties at a meeting in Addis Ababa in June 2009 where states underscored their continued support for the court. 

The ICC was created to bring accountability for the most serious crimes of international concern: genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In ratifying the Rome Statute, the countries signalled their dedication to cooperate with the ICC to defend the rights of victims and to ensure that the perpetrators of the most serious crimes known to mankind, whoever they might be, are brought to justice.