Politics and Society

Bye bye ICC: Burundi’s parliament votes overwhelmingly in favor of ditching Hague court

Burundi just made history. 94 out of 110 lawmakers in the country’s parliament today voted in support of a Bill that will set the court firmly on the course of formally withdrawing from the ICC. The move comes while Burundi is at the centre of international attention for banning UN investigators from entering the country to investigate human rights violations. Do you think Burundi has made the right move?

Published

9 years ago

October 12, 2016

This Is Africa

Burundi is on a roll. On Tuesday, the Easy African country made news for banning UN inspectors, announcing that it was suspending any and all cooperation with the UN high commission for human rights.

Burundi govt statement announcing suspension of cooperation & collaboration with the UN high commissioner for human rights pic.twitter.com/o1r8K2B3Cl
— Samira Sawlani (@samirasawlani) October 12, 2016

As Burundi tortures, kills and "disappear"s perceived opponents of Pres Nkurunziza's extended rule, it blocks three UN rights rapporteurs. pic.twitter.com/pp3gaBU78B
— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) October 11, 2016
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Big news, but Burundi just topped it.

Burundi lawmakers overwhelmingly vote in support of a plan to withdraw from the International Criminal Court. https://t.co/e7FoDoowDn
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 12, 2016

It has just been announced that Burundi’s parliament has voted overwhelmingly in support of legislation to withdraw from the Rome Statute, the ICC’s founding document. 94 out of 110 legislators voted in support of withdrawal while on 2 voted against it. 14 of the legislators abstained from the voted.

#Burundi parliament just passed a bill on withdrawal from #ICC:
94 MPs voted for,
2 against,
14 abstained (source: @GAbayeho)
— Benjamin Duerr (@benjaminduerr) October 12, 2016

This development comes just days after Burundi’s Cabinet instructed parliament to urgently consider legislation on terminating links with the ICC. As we reported last week, this latest push to withdraw from the ICC comes just six months after ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced the opening of a preliminary investigation into whether gross crimes had been committed.

The Bill will now be considered by Burundi’s Senate. Though what side the Senate will lean – for or against the Bill – seems like a forgone conclusion given the control President Pierre Nkurunziza has over the country.

MPs in Burundi vote in favour of withdrawal from ICC (94 yes, 2 no, 14 abstain)
Next stage= senate to look at bill
— Samira Sawlani (@samirasawlani) October 12, 2016
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https://twitter.com/john_wawer/status/786187297456726017

No country has ever withdrawn from the ICC. The withdrawal process is designed to take at least a year to conclude after a country notifies the Secretary General of the United Nations. However it should be noted that Burundi’s withdrawal from the ICC would have no effect on the the Court’s jurisdiction. The ICC will still be able to indict any Burundian it deems responsible for gross crimes.

Reaction to today’s vote is slowly building online.

Only murderous leaders of their people and despotic regimes eg Burundi fear@IntlCrimCourt . Withdrawing from ICC doesn't grant immunity gap
— Ndung'u Wainaina (@NdunguWainaina) October 12, 2016
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Pierre Nkurunziza's murderous regime has finally prevailed on it's lower house to vote to withdraw from the ICC. Impunity is real. #Burundi
— BABU AL-AMIN (@alaminkimathi) October 12, 2016

What does this mean for Burundi going forward? Here’s an educated guess:

With Parliament vote to leave #ICC + decision to deny entry to UN human rights experts, #Burundi's international isolation will only worsen
— Ryan Kaminski (@rykaminski) October 12, 2016
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