Kenya mulls International Criminal Court pull-out: Should African countries quit the court?

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has made a formal request to members of the country’s legislature to approve laws to pull Kenya out of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

According to reports, Kenyatta recently requested MPs to vote for severance of ties with Rome Statute and, “suspend any links, co-operation and assistance,” with the court.

The request has divided opinion within Kenya, across the continent and on social media, with strong arguments made on the request.

A sizeable contingent of critics view Kenyatta’s request as anything but sincere and justified, one which will only perpetuate impunity.

Those who support President Kenyatta’s position have been unequivocal, criticising the ICC for targeting Africans. There have been various countries in the past which have threatened to pull out of the ICC, owing to its perceived “racist,” “partisan” and skewed “prosecutorial strategy” targeting Africans.

Read: South Africa considering pulling out of ICC, Pres Zuma says

Read: Ugandan president lashes out at ICC over Kenyatta trial

While there are merits to both arguments, the question to ask is, if indeed African countries pull out of the ICC, what then happens when human rights violations occur and there is no recourse for justice because of the failure of national institutions?

Image: The Hague

The proposed African Court of Justice and Human Rights (African Court), which is meant to counter the ICC is yet to come into existence, which makes pulling out of the ICC a difficult proposition to accept.

While there is need to give prominence to African judicial mechanisms, the fact that the continental bloc, the African Union (AU) is not well resourced to set up an alternative court casts a shadow on a knee-jerk decision to pull-out of the ICC.

Reforming the ICC rather than completely severing ties with the court has long been touted as the most reasonable route, and with a plethora of challenges the AU is faced with, reforming the court seems a better alternative rather than throwing out the baby with the bath water.

International law experts have previously noted that although the ICC may seem weakened, it is still relevant and has a significant role to play in Africa.

Source: Standard Media