Should Africa Leave The International Criminal Court?
On 21 October, South Africa announced its decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court. The legal reason given is that the requirements of the ICC are in conflict with SA's obligations under the Diplomatic Immunity and Privileges Act, which requires it to protect African Heads of State on its soil. The unsaid political reason is the long standing claim that the court is biased against African states, which seems plausible given that all the 39 individuals prosecuted so far are African. Is Africa really being targeted?
Others argue the ICC manifests the double standards of world powers - 124 states have so far ratified the Rome Statute, a third of them African. Notable absences are US, China and Russia (Russia signed but has not yet ratified). So why should they compel African states to be party to something that the powers themselves don't subscribe to?
The primary argument for staying is that the Court helps to hold leaders accountable for gross human rights violations, and withdrawing will promote impunity. Even without a long list of case law, some argue that the mere existence of the Court can be a strong deterrent. But just how effective is the Court and is it a real deterrent? This is a complex issue also relevant to the “African solutions for African problems” conversation. The big question is: should other African states follow South Africa in an African Haguexodus from the ICC? Who should decide this? The Executive? But wouldn't that be asking the turkey to vote for Christmas? The Legislature? Can it really be trusted to express the true will of the people? The Judiciary? And trigger the age old question of whether politics should trump the law or the other way round? What about the voice of the most important stakeholders in all this – the African citizens? Most importantly, is The Haguexit a step backwards or does it move Africa forward?
, Innovation Champion and Social Justice Activist
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