African Civil Society Urges Support for ICC

Today the weakness of the International Criminal Court was underlined as Sudanese President al-Bashir, who has been subject two International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants, was free to jet off to China on a state visit.

This visit coincides with a report by African civil society activists called ‘Observations and Recommendations on the ICC’, which calls upon African ICC members to fulfil its obligations to the court. The report has been timed to coincide with the upcoming African Union (AU) summit meeting.

The 17th AU summit will hold its assembly of heads of state from June 30 to July 1 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. Amongst the objectives of the AU's leading institutions is a commitment to promoting democratic institutions, good governance, and human rights. African states played an essential role in the formation of the ICC, and almost two thirds of African states have ratified the Rome Statute, under which it is established.

ICC Logo

However the last few years have seen tensions arise between the AU and ICC. The initial response of the AU and its members to the issuance of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir’s arrest warrant for war crimes and crimes against humanity provides a disquieting example. In ratifying the Rome Statute, African ICC state parties assume obligations that require them to cooperate with the court, including arrest and surrender of suspects. Despite this, several African ICC members chose to ignore the warrant and some actively invited Bashir to visit their countries. The AU itself sought suspension of the proceedings against Bashir from the UN Security Council and stated that they would not co-operate in with the ICC in his arrest. It is a welcoming recommendation therefore that this report calls for African ICC members to uphold their obligations vis-à-vis visits by persons subject to ICC arrest warrants.

The report also calls for African ICC members to press for justice for serious crimes in violation of international law in Kenya. This has been the cause of further erosion in the relationship between the AU and ICC, following the AU’s request for the Security Council to delay ICC investigation of post-election violence in Kenya. This request ran contrary to opinion polls which suggest that not only are most Kenyans in support of the ICC process, but they believe it to be the only way justice can be done for the victims of these atrocities.

AU officials have recently gone as far as to suggest that the ICC is targeting Africans. Whilst it may be true that all situations under ICC investigation to date are in Africa, this can be seen to reflect Africa’s commitment to justice for the most serious crimes. It must also be remembered that the majority of the ICC's investigations have come about as a result of referrals by the governments of states where the crimes were committed. As Stephen Tumwesigye of Human Rights Network Uganda, one of the NGO’s supporting the report, states ‘African states should urge the AU to increase - not scale down - support for holding the worst rights abusers to account.’

The AU and ICC must connect better across the physical and political borders of its members, and act in solidarity to fulfill the human rights commitment they have made to Africans across the continent. It is hoped that heads of state will note this report at this week’s AU summit and adopt its recommendations.

Alison Picton, Human Rights Advocacy, CHRI

African Commonwealth Human Rights Weekly Update (28/06 - 03/06/2011)

Kenya

31/06/2011 – Kenya plans to appeal ICC decision

Kenya has declared its intention to appeal the decision of the International Criminal Court which rejected their request that trials of six men accused of crimes against humanity be held in Kenya’s national court.

The ICC ruled that the application did not contain sufficient evidence that the government could deliver justice locally, stating that it ‘did not provide concrete evidence of ongoing proceedings before national judges, against the same persons suspected of committing crimes falling under the ICC's jurisdiction.’

Kenya had earlier challenged the jurisdiction of the ICC, saying its own authorities would investigate and prosecute the cases on Kenyan soil.

Mozambique

01/06/2011 - Free weekly newspaper marks its third year

@Verdade, (truth, in Portuguese) is an extraordinary newspaper. With an aim of increasing access to information, it is distributed free of charge in Maputo and four other towns to people who could otherwise not afford to buy a newspaper.

‘@Verdade was designed and set out to be a tool for development,' says Erik Charas, the papers founder and developer. ‘The development of the citizen, the human being who is entitled to be an active participant of their country's economy simply by being informed. By being able to take or make informed decisions. By being able to speak and be heard. By being allowed to dream, to want and to do. And to change things.’

And three years on, signs show that the newspaper is working as an agent for change in a country that continues on its road to recovery following a sixteen year civil war. A study by Paul Collier, Jenny C Aker and Pedro C Vicente about the 2009 national elections found that access to @Verdade had increased political participation by 10%.

Nigeria

02/06/2011 – Nigerian police raid ‘baby farm’

An alleged ‘baby farm’ in the southern city of Aba was raided by Nigeria police this week. Thirty two pregnant girls, mostly of school age, were found locked up at the Cross Foundation clinic. Their babies were to be sold for illegal adoption or for use in ritual witchcraft.

Human trafficking is the third most common crime in Nigeria after financial fraud and drug trafficking. The UN estimates that at least ten children a day are sold across the country. Traffickers are seldom caught.

The police carried out similar raids on such clinics in neighbouring Enugu state in 2008.

Rwanda

02/06/2011 – Rwanda disputes claims of repressing free speech

This week saw the publication of an Amnesty International report stating that the genocide ideology and sectarianism laws enacted in Rwanda following the 1994 genocide have been used to stifle free speech and political opposition. The report stated that the policies are overly vague, broad and are being used by the government to punish journalists, human rights workers and political opposition.

Justice Minister Tharcisse Karugarama stated that Rwanda is already in the process of reviewing the policies. The government has labelled the report ‘inaccurate’ and ‘highly partisan’.