African leaders vote to give themselves immunity from war crimes This is a serious and troubling development. We dont know enough yet about the vote -- specifically if there was opposition to the resolution from leaders in the room. No outsiders allowed. This vote is also not surprising inasmuch as many Africans have long complained, and not without reason, that international justice is primarily directed at African leaders who enjoy much less impunity, in the end, than the leaders of the permanent members of the Council that refer cases to the ICC and other tribunals. Nobody much gives a damn about ensuring fairness in the international system. In my view, this is a consequence of that neglect, albeit a self-serving one. My greatest fear is that the continent may be heading to a disaster and extreme abuse of fundamental Human rights when this position is effectively adopted. African leaders gathered for a continent-wide summit voted to give themselves and their allies immunity from prosecution for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide at a new African Court of Justice and Human Rights. The decision comes as the continent confronts human-rights violations and has two sitting presidents and one ousted president facing charges at the International Criminal Court. Amnesty International called it a backward step in the fight against impunity and a betrayal of victims of serious violations of human rights. At a time when the African continent is struggling to ensure that there is accountability for serious human-rights violations and abuses, it is impossible to justify this decision which undermines the integrity of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights, even before it becomes operational, said Amnestys Netsanet Belay. The decision came Friday at an African Union summit vote in Equatorial Guinea from which journalists were excluded, Amnesty International said. News of the vote was imparted obliquely in a statement Monday night about the summit outcomes. A paragraph listing legal instruments agreed to at the meeting included the Protocol on Amendments to the Protocol on the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights. That amendment bars the court from prosecuting sitting African leaders and vaguely identified senior officials. Forty-two African and international civil society and rights groups had objected to the amendment, noting in an open letter before the summit that the impunity violates international and domestic laws as well as the constitution of the African Union. Simon Allison of the South African-based Institute for Security Studies wrote in an op-ed piece before the vote that there are enough compromised African leaders who might stand to benefit from the immunity on offer. He noted that there is an argument to be made that guaranteed immunity for presidents and senior officials might actually encourage African states to engage more enthusiastically with the proposed new court, and to abide by its rulings. If Africas leaders arent worrying about their own fate, they wont have anything to lose by cooperating, he wrote. And it might keep the court clear of the complicated political issues that have bogged down the International Criminal Court at The Hague. That court has been accused of unfairly singling out African leaders. Earlier this year the African Union urged its members to speak with one voice to prevent criminal proceedings at ICC against sitting presidents. Only Botswana objected then, as it has now to the promised impunity at the African court. The African Union has failed to persuade the U.N. Security Council to defer the trials of Kenyas president and his deputy on charges of crimes against humanity for allegedly orchestrating postelection violence that killed more than 1,000 people in 2007. Both men deny the charges. The Africans also wanted the deferral of criminal proceedings against Sudans president, who has been charged with genocide in Darfur _____________________________________ Tanyi Christian -Co-Founder/CEO of LUKMEF-Cameroon -Expert in Conflict Analysis, Mediation & Negotiation of NRM -Focal Point Dynamique Citoyenne ( SWR) -Cameroon Focal Person for the UN Emergency Peace Service Initiative (UNEPS) -Coordinator of the National Alliance for the promotion of Administrative Justice BP1348, limbe Tel +23733332304 Mobile: +23777947449 Skype: christian24035 New Picture - Copylukmefcameroon.org Twitter: twitter/lukmefcameroon Facebook: facebook/lukmefcameroon my blog: eselekwe.blogspot
Posted on: Wed, 02 Jul 2014 17:43:18 +0000
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