Malawi non-committal on ICC withdrawal
Government has refused to commit to a position on the calls by Kenya and other African countries to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), saying the country has not been approached to support a motion on the issue.
The campaign for mass withdrawals of African countries from ICC stems from perceptions that the court targets Africans. So far, all 18 people indicted by the court are Africans.
Principal secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs George Mkondiwa on Wednesday said Kenya has not written Malawi to seek its support on the issue.
“I am not even aware that there is such a proposal. It is not on the table, so it is not a live issue. All I know is that the African Union (AU) declared that sitting presidents must be exempted from prosecution until the end of their terms and as a country, we abide by that,” said Mkondiwa.
Kenya is leading the campaign for leaving ICC after president Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto were indicted for crimes against humanity following the chaos that occurred after the disputed 2007 elections that left 1 000 people dead and tens of thousands others displaced.
The east African country’s parliament recently passed a motion to quit the court. However, the court said a withdrawal would not mean the charges against Kenyatta and Ruto would be dropped.
At the recent AU extraordinary summit held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the motion for members to withdraw from the Rome Statute that created the court was not tabled because it failed to generate enough support among members.
Executive director of the Institute for Policy Interaction (IPI) Rafiq Hajat said he is against the idea of leaving ICC because the institution is an important platform for addressing human rights abuses.
“When other avenues fail, the ICC offers hope, especially for the dictator leaders that Africa has. I agree that African leaders may be targeted but they can unite to go and effect necessary changes at the ICC,” said Hajat.
Narrow escape for guard
How can the ICC target African Leaders if they respect the rights of their people. What the Kenyan parliament voted for is impunity. It makes sense to delay trial of a sitting President but this should only be when the country has presidential term limits. The era of impunity is behind us.
Totally agree. I think we should put our houses in order first before we start complianing about being targeted. Humnan rights should not be a previledge but rather a birth right.
Malawi non-committal on ICC withdrawal |The Nation Online