Burundi Leaves The International Criminal Court
Burundi became the first country to pull out from the International Criminal Court after a one-year withdrawal process comes to an end.
Both South Africa and The Gambia later took back their withdrawals.
The ICC, which was established to prosecute the world’s worst atrocities, has said Burundi’s withdrawal does not affect the preliminary examination of the country’s situation already being undertaken by the court’s prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda.
A former German and Belgian colony,Burundi has been in a state of deadly political turmoil since 2015, when protests broke out after the ruling party announced that President Pierre Nkurunziza would seek a third five-year term.
Those implicated in the human rights abuses include top officials in Burundi’s National Intelligence Services and police force, as well as military officials and members of the ruling party’s youth branch, known as Imbonerakure. The ongoing violence and unrest have forced hundreds of thousands to leave the country.
“Burundi’s official withdrawal from the International Criminal Court is the latest example of the government’s deplorable efforts to shield those responsible for grave human rights violations from any kind of accountability,” said Param-Preet Singh, Human Rights Watch’s associate director of international justice in a statement.
Many African nations have long accused the court of being biased against Africa, with the overwhelming majority of its investigations targeting the continent. In February 2017, the African Union (AU) called at a summit for a mass withdrawal of member states, but the resolution was not legally binding and was opposed by Nigeria and Senegal.
Following Burundi’s withdrawal, a total of 33 African states are now signatories to the Rome Statute that is the foundation of the ICC, among 123 countries worldwide
The United States, along with Israel, Sudan and Russia, have not ratified the statute, while other countries such as China and India have not even signed it.
Source: DW