AU blames UN, ICC for double standards

African Union Chairperson and Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Dessalegn, has blamed the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) for displaying double standards towards the African Union’s request for deferral of cases affecting African leaders.

“The double standard that both the United States Security Council and the ICC have displayed with regards to the AU’s request for deferral for persecution in a number of cases, has been particularly worrisome,” he said speaking at the Heads of States meeting opened on Saturday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

“While similar requests by other entities were positively received, even under very controversial circumstances, neither the ICC nor the UNSC have heeded the repeated requests that we have made a number of cases relating to Africa over the last seven years. It is indeed very unfortunate that the Court has continued to operate in complete disregard of the concerns that we have expressed.”

According to the Chairperson, the ICC has ignored numerous proposals of AU within the framework of the Rome Statue to address impunity of African leaders who willful murder their own people. Currently 34 members of the AU are signatories of the Rome Statutes willing to be persecuted by the ICC.

Since last May, AU has sent two letters to ICC to save the President and Deputy of Kenya from the ongoing hearings of the Court at The Hague, according to Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission.

“The UN Security Council and the ICC should work with us to enable the elected leadership of Kenya to fulfill their constitutional obligations, by urgently considering deferment of the ICC proceedings
against the President and Vice President of Kenya, in accordance with Article 16 of the Rome Statutes,” she said opening the Heads of States
meeting this morning.