By Mary Kimani
In July 2008 Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), announced his intention to prosecute President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan for human rights violations related to the conflict in that country’s Darfur region. Less than a year later, on 3 March 2009, ICC judges confirmed that an arrest warrant had been issued for President Bashir on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes.
That indictment, among other actions by the ICC, has provoked intense controversy, adding further heat to an often angry debate about the court’s role in Africa. Critics argue that the ICC is placing undue emphasis on Africa and that indicting the sitting Sudanese president threatens that country’s fragile peace process. Supporters of the ICC’s actions worry that such arguments diminish the seriousness of the crimes and point out that some of the most powerful critics are other African leaders who fear they might one day face similar charges.
When 120 states first signed the Rome Statute establishing the court in July 1998, many saw its creation as a major diplomatic breakthrough. That support reflected broad agreement with the affirmation of the ICC Statute that people who “bear the greatest responsibility for the worst crimes known to humanity” should be punished. By 2002, 60 countries had ratified the treaty – the minimum required for it to become law – a number that has grown to 110 today.
The new court has also met widespread support in Africa. Today 30 of the continent’s 54 countries have ratified, forming the largest regional bloc among the countries that are party to the court. Many Africans work at the court, including as judges.
Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, head of the Africa justice programme of the non-governmental Open Society Institute, explains why many Africans initially embraced the ICC. “Most people in our continent are, like me, children of war, want and deprivation, caused mostly by bad government,” he noted in an article posted online by the African publisher Pambazuka.
“For us, justice for mass atrocities is intimately personal.” Unfortunately, in most African countries, Mr. Odinkalu points out, dignity, peace and justice have proved illusory. “This is why most of us supported the establishment of the ICC. We believed the court would help to end high-level impunity for mass atrocities, enabling us to attain the best we are capable of.”
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