African leaders behind the move to extract the continent from
the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court are effectively
seeking a licence to kill, maim and oppress their people without
consequences.
They are saying African leaders should not allow
the interests of the people to get in the way of their personal
ambitions. Being held to account interferes with their ability to act
with impunity. Those who get in their way should remain faceless and
voiceless. They are arguing that the golden rule of reciprocity should
not apply to them. And nor should any legal system.
But they know that they cannot say these things in public, so they say that the ICC is racist.At first glance, when one tallies the number of African leaders versus
European and North American leaders prosecuted by the court, their
argument appears as if it might be plausible. When one considers the
facts, however, one quickly realises that the number of Africans put on
trial is an indictment of leadership and democracy in some countries,
not of the court.
When thousands of people are murdered and displaced in any
country, one would hope that country’s systems of justice would kick in
to right the wrongs. But when that country is unwilling or unable to
dispense justice, who should represent the interests of the victims?
Those accused of crimes proclaim their innocence
and vilify the ICC as racist and unjust. The eight matters brought
before the court were initiated by African countries and their leaders.
There was no witch-hunt or imposition, the judges and investigators were
invited in.
So while the rhetoric of leaders at the AU may
play both the race and colonial cards, the facts are clear. Far from
being a so-called “white man’s witch hunt,” the ICC could not be more
African if it tried.
More than 20 African countries helped to found it.
Of the 108 nations that initially joined the ICC, 30 were African. Five
of the court’s 18 judges are African, as is the vice-president. The
chief prosecutor, who has huge power over which cases are brought
forward, is from Africa. The ICC is literally Africa’s court.
Leaving the ICC would be a tragedy for Africa for
three reasons. First, without justice, countries can attack their
neighbours or minorities in their own countries with impunity.
Two years ago, when the warlord Thomas Lubanga was arrested to
face charges of conscripting child soldiers, the threat of the ICC
undermined his support from other militia. In Cote D’Ivoire, since
Laurent Gbagbo was taken to face justice in The Hague, the country has
rebuilt. Without it, there would be no brake on the worst excesses of
criminals. And these violent leaders continue to plague Africa.
Perpetrators of violence must not be allowed to go free.
Second, without justice there can be no peace. In
South Africa, it has taken a long process of truth and reconciliation
for the wounds of apartheid to begin to heal. In Kenya, the
post-election violence wounds will take a long time to heal. Put simply,
where justice and order is not restored, there can be no healing,
leaving violence and hatred ticking like a bomb in the corner.
Third, as Africa finds its voice in world affairs,
it should be strengthening justice and the rule of law, not undermining
it. Everyone has a duty to adhere to these principles; they are part of
global collective responsibility, not a menu we can choose from as and
when it suits us.
Right now, thousands of people from across the
planet are joining a campaign hosted by Avaaz, an international advocacy
organisation calling on Africa’s leaders to stay in the ICC and stand
behind international justice and what it means for so many vulnerable
citizens everywhere. They represent our global commitment to working
together to make the future brighter and safer for the next generations.
The alternatives are too painful: Revenge, like
what happened in Rwanda, Kosovo, Bosnia; or blanket amnesty, a national
commitment to amnesia like what happened in Chile. The only way a
country can deal with its past is to confront it.
We need loud voices in Addis Ababa to deliver the
message of the world’s people, to shout down those that want us to do
nothing. At the front, we need the heavyweight champions of Africa –
South Africa and Nigeria – to exercise their leadership and stop those
that do not like the rules from attempting to re-write them.
If Africa’s democracies truly believe in justice and the rule of
law, they must stand up against this attempt by their least democratic
brothers and sisters to undermine those values.
The Addis meeting is a contest between justice and
injustice. Far from a fight between Africa and the West, this is a
fight within Africa, for the soul of the continent.
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