Let International Criminal Court do its work

This weekend, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, representatives of African states meet to “exchange views” on the International Criminal Court (ICC).  

Prompted by the war crimes indictment of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, the meeting will provide a platform for the court’s dissenters in Africa, and aim to sew discord among ICC supporters.  

The meeting appears to be driven by African leaders who claim that the ICC is unfairly targeting African leaders and engaging in a new form of Western colonialism.

They claim also that the ICC indictment of al-Bashir will impede peace in Sudan.

Meanwhile, the real focus seems to be protecting the Sudanese president who is accused of the worst kind of atrocities.

The world is deeply concerned by the ongoing violence, displacement and repression in Sudan, and it supports the role of the ICC’s role in bringing justice and accountability for the people of Sudan.  

The world hopes that the court’s work will help to break the cycle of violence and the culture of silence in the Darfur region.

The international community as well as all of Sudan’s neighbours and friends should join hands in supporting the ICC’s role in Sudan.  

The international community is deeply disheartened by the Sudanese Government’s response to the March 4, 2009, issuance of an arrest warrant for President al-Bashir.

By expelling and restricting humanitarian NGOs and relief workers in the desperate Darfur region, the government of Sudan has further endangered the lives of the estimated 4.7 million people in the region who rely on food, medical and water aid.

The expelled organisations are responsible for at least 50 per cent of this aid.  The international community must come together to find the way forward and to help Darfuris, and all Sudanese, to find justice and peace.

LEADERS SHOULD DRAMATICALLY STEP up efforts to negotiate an end to the violence in Darfur, actively involving armed groups and the Sudanese Government.

The Sudanese women who have been building the path to peace through their dialogue and consultation efforts must be at the peace table.

Progress in the peace talks must happen in tandem with the ICC’s work for justice.

After more than five years of horrific violence and insecurity, displacement and brutal sexual violence, the Darfur people, particularly the women, deserve more than the negotiating warlords forgiving one another for the violence they have perpetrated primarily against women, children and other non-combatants.

There can be no real peace without justice, and the people of Darfur deserve and have clearly vocalised the desire for justice and accountability.

The ICC is an effective vehicle for achieving justice on a global level.

The court has the potential to prevent and reduce deaths and devastation caused by violent conflict and abuses of power.  

The victims of every nation deserve access to justice, and the ICC provides a forum for those who have nowhere else to turn.

It would be a shame if this weekend’s Addis meeting were to undermine the court’s potential before it can get off the ground.

The true leaders of this continent have nothing to fear about the court.

Africa needs strong institutions, good governance and the protection of human rights to tackle the many challenges it faces.

The court can play an important role, but only if the world lets it. So as they meet this week, it is hoped African states will do just that — let the court do its work.

Prof Maathai, a Nobel Peace laureate, is a co-founder of the Nobel Women’s Initiative and the Greenbelt Movement. Prof Soyinka, a Nobel literature laureate, is the author of numerous novels, plays, essays, films and poetry collections. Archbishop Tutu, who has also won the Nobel Peace prize, chaired his country’s truth and reconciliation commission.