Download full text
(87.87Kb)
Citation Suggestion
Please use the following Persistent Identifier (PID) to cite this document:
https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-391276
Exports for your reference manager
Political bickering over the International Criminal Court: the case of Kenya
[comment]
Corporate Editor
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik -SWP- Deutsches Institut für Internationale Politik und Sicherheit
Abstract The International Criminal Court’s indictment against Sudanese President Omar al Bashir in 2009 provoked massive criticism from the African Union. The indictment of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta swelled those voices to a choir, demanding suspension of his trial and immunity from the ICC for servin... view more
The International Criminal Court’s indictment against Sudanese President Omar al Bashir in 2009 provoked massive criticism from the African Union. The indictment of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta swelled those voices to a choir, demanding suspension of his trial and immunity from the ICC for serving heads of state. The African Union’s criticism has two roots: Firstly, the wish for its efforts to establish peace and security in the continent to be taken seriously by the UN Security Council and the European Union. Secondly, the desire among the ruling political elites of many African states to dissuade the European Union and other Western states from focussing their political dialogues with African countries on human rights and rule of law, which the former increasingly regard as paternalistic. Although the Assembly of States Parties to the ICC, which met in The Hague from 20 to 28 November 2013, made concessions to Kenya by amending the rules of procedure, the underlying conflict between Africa and Europe over Article 27 of the Rome Statute and the African states’ wish to exempt serving heads of state from the jurisdiction of the ICC was not defused. The two sides should use the lead-up to the next EU-Africa summit in April 2014 to bring their perceptions of international criminal justice closer together again.... view less
Keywords
Kenya; African Union; human rights; International Criminal Court; international relations; EU; prosecution; international law; criminal law; Africa
Classification
International Relations, International Politics, Foreign Affairs, Development Policy
Law
Document language
English
Publication Year
2014
City
Berlin
Page/Pages
4 p.
Series
SWP Comment, 5/2014
ISSN
1861-1761
Status
Published Version; reviewed
Licence
Deposit Licence - No Redistribution, No Modifications