AU set to push for mass withdrawal from global court

Friday, October 11, 2013

JENNY VAUGHAN | AFP A view of the new AU headquarters in Addis Ababa. The campaign to stop President Uhuru Kenyatta from attending his trials at International Criminal Court are expected to get into top gear Friday when the African Union (AU) convenes an extraordinary summit to discuss Africa’s relationship with The Hague-based court. 

In Summary

• In Parliament, the Majority Leader Aden Duale vowed to push ahead with the campaign to repeal the ICC Act and have Kenya withdraw from the Rome Statute as resolved by the National Assembly at a special sitting on September 5.

By DAVE OPIYO
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The campaign to stop President Uhuru Kenyatta from attending his trials at International Criminal Court are expected to get into top gear Friday when the African Union (AU) convenes an extraordinary summit to discuss Africa’s relationship with The Hague-based court.

And as the AU was setting the stage for the summit which starts in Addis Ababa, in Nairobi two activists went to court to block President Kenyatta from attending his trial, saying that doing so would violate Kenya’s sovereignty.

Mr Ken Bartai and Mr Felix Kiprono are seeking a court declaration that the International Crimes Act is unconstitutional and that further cooperation between Kenya and ICC would be a breach of the Constitution.

According to the two, their right to representation will be greatly affected if President Kenyatta attends trials at The Hague. They also submit that the country’s sovereignty will be at stake.

In Parliament, the Majority Leader Aden Duale vowed to push ahead with the campaign to repeal the ICC Act and have Kenya withdraw from the Rome Statute as resolved by the National Assembly at a special sitting on September 5.

He said the Bill he has been drafting will be ready for presentation in the National Assembly either next week or the week after. The decision made at the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa would have no impact on their process, he said.

“We are saying (that) never in the history of Kenya shall we allow any of our citizens, whether it’s a president or a deputy president or an ordinary citizen including the journalist (Walter) Barasa… to be tried by a foreign court,” Mr Duale said.

Take charge

Deputy President William Ruto is expected back in Nairobi at the weekend to take charge as President Kenyatta travels to Addis Ababa.

On Tuesday, South African International Relations minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said African countries would assess their continued involvement with the ICC when they meet in Ethiopia Friday.

“The summit will consider our participation as African countries in the ICC. Do I give you the outcome of the summit before it sits?  No, I can’t,” she said.

But she added: “South Africa is going to that meeting to participate, fully aware of the developments that are taking place. We were there when  the ICC was formed. We have all the rights as member states to sit back and say: Is this exactly what we thought we were forming?”

She said Africa’s position would be announced to the world soon after the Addis meeting.

It is expected that the countries could vote on whether to withdraw from the Rome Statute or end cooperation with the ICC.

The meeting, to be held today and tomorrow in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, follows accusations that the court singles out Africans for prosecution.

On Wednesday, Foreign Secretary Amina Mohammed said it would be unprecedented for President Kenyatta, a sitting president, to stand trial in a foreign court.

She, however, said the country was not planning to lead mass withdrawal from the ICC during the Addis Ababa talks.

Efforts to contact State House spokesman Manoah Esipisu to comment on whether Mr Kenyatta will attend trial should the AU decide to pull out of ICC were futile as his phone went unanswered.
Plans by AU member states to withdraw from ICC have been opposed by a cross-section of organisations and leaders.

Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan has already warned that it would be a “badge of shame” for Africa if its leaders voted to leave the ICC.

Rome Statute

And at The Hague, the President of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the ICC, Ms Tiina Intelmann, said ICC was an independent judicial institution that States collectively established by agreeing to its founding document, the Rome Statute, in 1998.

“The Statute constitutes the legal framework within which the Court works. The Rome Statute system is a major achievement of the whole international community. Hence, the significance of this court extends far beyond one case, one situation, or one region,” she said.

And the International Campaign to Stop Rape and Gender Violence in Conflict — Archbishop Desmond Tutu and six other Nobel laureates — urged AU members to back the ICC as a critical tool for combating rape and other forms of gender violence.

“A decision to withdraw from the ICC will be very bad news for survivors who seek justice and very good news for rapists who expect to get away with their crimes,” Nobel Peace laureate and co-chair of the International Campaign to Stop Rape and Gender Violence in Conflict, Ms Leymah Gbowee, said in an opinion piece.

Mr Kenyatta has filed an application to be allowed to follow trial proceedings via video link alongside another seeking that he be excused from attending all sessions except for the opening, closing and delivery of judgment to enable him carry out his state duties.