The African Union (AU) is worried
over the double standards exhibited by the ICC with regards to requests for
deferral of prosecution of some cases.
The AU Chairperson, Hailemariam
Dessalegn, made the remarks, when he addressed Heads of State and Governments
at the 15th Extraordinary Assembly of AU on Saturday in Addis Ababa.
Dessalegn, who is the Prime Minister
of Ethiopia, said that this informed the decision to review the continent’s
relationship with the The Hague.
“While similar re The African Union
(AU) is worried over the double standards exhibited by the ICC with regards to
requests for deferral of prosecution of some cases.
The AU Chairperson, Hailemariam
Dessalegn, made the remarks, when he addressed Heads of State and Governments
at the 15th Extraordinary Assembly of AU on Saturday in Addis Ababa.
Dessalegn, who is the Prime Minister
of Ethiopia, said that this informed the decision to review the continent’s
relationship with the The Hague.
“While similar requests by other
entities were positively received even under very controversial circumstances,
neither the ICC nor the UN Security Council have heeded the repeated
requests that we have made on a number of cases relating to Africa over the
last seven years.
“It is unfortunate that the court
continue to operate in complete disregard for the concerns that we have
expressed, which make the trend worrisome and unfair with the kind of treatment
we have been subjected to by the ICC.’’
Available data on the ICC cases in
Africa show that the court’s Pre-Trial Chambers have 32 Africans, while it had
issued arrest warrants for 23 individuals and summons to nine others, including
the Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir.
However, Dessalegn said Africa would
never support impunity of leaders, who willfully murder their own people.
Dessalegn expressed regrets that
numerous proposals presented within the framework of the Rome Statute to
address these issues had been ignored.
“Past experience in our continent and
elsewhere amply demonstrate the need to balance justice and reconciliation in
the complex conflict situation.
“It is in light of this fact that we
have been insisting on the importance of finding home-grown solution to some of
the intractable conflicts in our continent,’’ the AU Chair said.
The AU Chairperson, however, said
that Kenya had gone a long way in terms of addressing the 2007 post-election
violence.
“The adoption of a new constitution,
the reform of the judicial system and the holding of legislative and
presidential election has certainly opened a new chapter in the country’s
political dispensation.
“More importantly, the measures taken
to reform the criminal justice system in Kenya were also meant to dispel the
fears of some in the international community that they might not be as
impartial as ICC would have seen it necessary as required by the principle of
complementarities.’’
He said President Uhuru Kenyatta and
his Deputy William Ruto, had displayed a critical role in reconciling the
different communities, and that had created peaceful condition for the smooth
conduct of the elections.
On the case of Sudan, he said, Omar
Al-Bashir, had demonstrated necessary leadership and commitment to resolve the
Dafur issue and address outstanding issues with South Sudan.
“The AU, through a High Level Panel,
has also been assisting Sudan in overcoming its difficulties and notable
achievements have been made in this regards.
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