Mixed report card for ICC

| Friday June 11, 2010 00:00

'The Rome Statute has been described as the greatest advance in international law since the UN Charter,' Oby Nwankwo, executive director of Nigeria's Civil Resource Development and Documentation Centre, said in Uganda, where the 31 May-11 June conference is taking place. 'While the ICC has its shortcomings, it provides a backstop to impunity.' Established by the Statute on 1 July 2002, the ICC now has 111 state parties, 18 judges, and field offices in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uganda, Central African Republic (CAR) and Chad. It is conducting investigations in the DRC, Uganda, CAR, Kenya and Sudan, and has issued 13 arrest warrants for eight cases.  But critics say the Court has taken too long to conclude cases and is too focused on African countries. Describing the ICC as 'European-driven, African-focused and irretrievably flawed', pro-Khartoum writer and publicist David Hoile said its 'claims to international jurisdiction and judicial independence are institutionally flawed and the Court's approach has been marred by blatant double standards and serious judicial irregularities'.

The Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies cited the uneven and imbalanced landscape of global politics as a factor. 'For Africa, a key concern is the relationship between the UN Security Council and the ICC, specifically the Council's powers of referral and deferral,' a summary of an ISS symposium on 'The ICC that Africa wants' stated. 'The skewed international power of the UNSC creates an environment in which it is more likely that action will be taken against accused from weaker states,' it added.

An analyst, who requested anonymity, said this view had been amplified by the 2008 high-profile indictment of Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir. 'That indictment has driven a wedge between supporters and opponents of the Court,' she told IRIN. 'It has led to all manner of accusations, clouded the ICC's record and continues to elicit controversy.' But asked how he could effect an arrest against Bashir, Prosecutor Louis Moreno Ocampo was bullish. 'Arresting Bashir is a matter of time; the Court is permanent, so it can wait,' he said. 'The current challenges faced by the Rome Statute are not a product of failure, they are a product of success,' he said.

'The Court is today fully operational, executing its judicial mandate and far exceeding expectations.' Asked if he had a plan B, Ocampo said: 'The states decide the law, I only apply it.'  His upbeat assessment was shared by ICC President Judge Sang-Hyun Song. 'The system of international justice has developed faster than expected,' he said. 'The threat of prosecution at the ICC has already deterred some criminals... the [Kampala] conference will review ways to increase domestic capacity.'  At the conference, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was asked if the ICC was toothless. He responded: 'We are witnessing the birth of a new age of accountability.'  He hailed the presence in Kampala of the US, which was participating as a non-state party for the first time. 'I understand the US is very seriously reviewing its decisions,' he added. Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary-General, defended the Court. (IRIN)