ICC’s Africa work on the spot at Oslo conference
By John Stephen Katende
8th Nov 2010
ICC's Chief Prosecutor Ocampo
The International Criminal Court’s [ICC’s] long arm of criminal justice against suspected perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Africa will be critically discussed at a conference in Oslo-Norway.
The conference, due to take place on the 20th of November has been organised by the Africa Centre for Information and Development [ACID] in collaboration with the Norwegian Social Forum. The theme of the conference will be “Addressing Impunity & Human Rights Abuses in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Role of the International Criminal Court”.
The idea behind the conference is to open debate on the challenges and dilemmas of the “justice versus peace” debate and how it impacts on sustainable peace in Africa.
Wearing his other hat as Director of Democratic Institutions for Poverty Reduction in Africa [DIPRA] – UK, FDC’s International Envoy to the UK and EU Mr. Sam Akaki will discuss the “ICC’s involvement in Africa and its implications for justice, peace and reconciliation”.
The other speakers will be Mrs. Fatou Bensouda, a Deputy Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court and Dr. Stephen Kabera Karanja, a Senior Researcher at the Norwegian Center for Human Rights in Oslo.
Established in 2002, the ICC Prosecutor Louise Moreno Ocampo has to-date opened cases against 16 individuals for alleged crimes in northern Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, and the Darfur region of Sudan.
Ocampo is also investigating post-election violence in Kenya and analyzing situations in Guinea and several other African countries. Interest in the work of the ICC in Africa has arisen from concern over gross human rights violations on the African continent.
Indicted President Bashir
On March 4, 2009, ICC judges issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al- Bashir for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. The case against Bashir represents the first attempt by the ICC to pursue a sitting head of state and it has drawn as much praise as criticism.
While those who support Bashir’s indictment say it’s necessary to fight impunity, critics of the ICC’s action against Bashir argue that it could endanger the peace process in Darfur and Southern Sudan as well as post-conflict reconstruction efforts in other parts of Africa like Sierra Leone and Liberia. Former Liberian President Charles Taylor is already facing trial in at the Special Court for Sierra Leone sitting the ICC in The Hague.
The ICC’s activities in Africa have already been interpreted by Rwandan President Paul Kagame as a new form of “imperialism” that seeks to “…undermine poor African countries and other powerless countries in terms of economic development and politics”. END. Please log into www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.
