Heads of States at the African Union Summit, have backed
a Kenyan proposal pushing for a pullout from the International Criminal Court,
leaders said Sunday, repeating claims it unfairly targets the continent. Chad’s
President Idriss Deby, elected African Union chairman at the two-day summit,
criticised the court for focusing its efforts on African leaders, stating that
“Elsewhere in the world, many things happen — many flagrant violations of human
rights — but nobody cares.”
The
AU, led in particular by Kenya, has accused the court of unfairly targeting
Africans for prosecution as the majority of its cases come from the continent.
This included a failed case to try Kenyan President Uhuru
Kenyatta and a faltering case against his deputy William Ruto, for allegedly
masterminding deadly post-election violence in the east African country in
2007-2008 in which some 1,200 people died. “We refuse to be carried along in a
vehicle that has strayed off course to the detriment of our sovereignty,
security and dignity as Africans,” Kenyatta said in a statement.
“Leaving the ICC with no credible mechanism for justice
for mass crimes in sight would be an error of colossal proportions,” Kenya’s
Daily Nation said in an editorial. “It is far better for member states to stay
in the court and advocate reforms, rather than bolting and leaving millions on
the continent unprotected by an international court which can step in when
national institutions fail.”
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