Despite the West’s drones, preemptive military strikes, and illegal occupations, the International Criminal Court has indicted 39 defendants in its 16 years, all Africans.
Calling the International Criminal Court the “International Caucasian Court,” Gambia Tuesday became the third African nation to announce its departure from the Hague tribunal which has indicted 39 defendants in its 16-year career, all Africans.
“This action is warranted by the fact that the ICC, despite being called the International Criminal Court, is, in fact, an International Caucasian Court for the persecution and humiliation of people of color, especially Africans,” Gambia’s Information Minister Sheriff Bojang said on state television.
As one example, Bojang noted that the ICC, which was launched in 2002, declined to charge U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair for his role in supporting the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. Moreover, the ICC has so far failed to respond to Gambian President Yahya Jammeh’s recent appeals for an investigation into whether the European Union is criminally responsible for the deaths of African migrants who’ve died in the Mediterranean sea while fleeing to Europe.
Gambians account for many of the Africans fleeing impoverishment and civil conflict via the waterway. Those who survive the passage often face trafficking and other forms of exploitation upon their arrival in Europe, often tantamount to slavery.
“There are many Western countries, at least 30, that have committed heinous war crimes against independent sovereign states and their citizens since the creation of the ICC and not a single Western war criminal has been indicted,” the government said in a statement.
The Hague-based court is the world’s first international body designed to investigate and prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity but has continually been accused of an anti-African and neocolonial bias. It has also criticized for the reliance on states to help bring individuals to trial.
To date, nine out of ten ICC investigations have focused on Africa, with Georgia the only non-African state under official investigation. International powers such as the U.S., Russia and China have not signed or ratified the Rome statute which established the court – meaning that their involvement in numerous crimes against humanity remains unchecked.
On Friday, South Africa also said it would leave the court, arguing that its national laws conflict with ICC obligations. South Africa has been criticized by the court for failing to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who has been accused of crimes relating to the conflict in the Darfur region from 2008.
South Africa refused to arrest al-Bashir while he was in the country in 2015, arguing that he had immunity under diplomatic laws for sitting heads of state.
Earlier this month, Burundi became the first nation to declare its withdrawal from the court and many ICC supporters are wary of others continuing the trend. Kenya, Namibia and Uganda are other nations that are expected to also leave the court.
Former Argentine ICC chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo criticized states leaving the court as giving African leaders a free license “to commit genocide,” and warned of war crimes in Burundi. Within Gambia, Jammeh has been accused of cracking down on his political opponents ahead of December’s election. Jammeh has been ruling Gambia since 1994 when he came to power through a coup.
— source telesurtv.net