Africa & the International Criminal Court: A new Era is Possible

To Mark the Day of International Criminal Justice, today 17 July, here is another article I published some years back after speaking to African Ministers of Justice gathered in Dakar, Senegal by the then Minister of Justice of Senegal and President of the Assembly of States Parties to the ICC Treaty, Mr. Sidiki Kaba.

Assodesire

Subsequent to my article on Africa and the ICCpublished on this blog, I was invited by H.E. Sidiki Kaba, Minister of Justice of Senegal and President of the Assembly of States parties to the International Criminal Court to resource a ministerial discussion  on the challenges and opportunities of the International Criminal Court going forward. Present at this meeting was also the ICC Chief Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda as well as other officials of the court.

In my presentation at a session chaired by H.E. Cheik Sako, Minister of Justice of Guinea, I proposed to African Ministers of Justice ideas that would re-establish trust between Africa and the ICC in order to work together to address impunity and ensure justice for victims. I argued that grievances of the African Union against the ICC’s  “exclusive” targeting of Africa is understandable because crimes under ICC jurisdictions are also committed by none Africans, outside of Africa and the ICC does not seem to be in…

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The International Criminal Court or the African Union: Who can Ensure Justice for African Victims?

Today, 17 July is the Day of International Criminal Justice, marking the anniversary of the adoption of the International Criminal Court Treaty in 1998. I am sharing an article I published some years back, but still relevant today on Africa and the #ICC: https://assodesire.com/2017/02/14/the-international-criminal-court-or-the-african-union-who-can-ensure-justice-for-african-victims/

Assodesire

La version en Français ici

I spent several years of my professional career working on human rights and justice first as the Founder and Chairperson of Juris-Club, then as Commissioner at the National Commission of Human Rights following my election by the Parliament of Togo, then as Outreach Liaison for Africa at the Global Coalition for the International Criminal Court in New York among others … The conflict between the African Union and the ICC therefore interests me in several respects but especially as African and a human rights lawyer; therefore I would like to share here some personal reflections on the different episodes of the serial “ICC versus the African Union”.

The International Criminal Court: The Basics

The creation of the International Criminal Court is an important step in mankind’s efforts to make our world more just. The court was established by an international law treaty “The Rome…

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