Gambia becomes third African country to pull out of the

International Criminal Court

Gambia becomes third African country to pull out of the International Criminal Court
Gambia becomes third African country to pull out of the International Criminal CourtGambian
officials criticized the court as the "International Caucasian Court."

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh. CREDIT: AP Photo/Sunday Alamba, File.Gambia is the third
African country to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), following accusations that
the tribunal focuses on persecuting and humiliating "people of colour, especially Africans."
The move comes mere weeks after South Africa and Burundi made similar decisions to withdraw
from the court, which has jurisdiction to prosecute individuals who commit the world's worst
atrocities.
In an announcement made Tuesday evening, Gambian Information Minister Sheriff Bojang harshly
criticized the ICC for failing to go after Westerners for war crimes, instead heavily focusing on
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," Bojang said on state television. He cited the failure to indict former
British Prime Minister Tony Blair over the legality of invading the Iraq War as a prime example of
the "court's Western bias," Newsweek reported.
Relationships are souring 14 years after the formal ratification of the ICC, in which the tribunal has

opened a disproportionate number of inquiries against African countries.

Here's why Gambia's withdrawal from the ICC is so important -- and what it could mean for the
future of international courts of law:
The history of the ICCThe ICC was meant to be a permanent tribunal to prosecute people who
commit the world's worst crimes. The court -- created by a treaty and not by the United Nations -aims to be a "court of last resort" to try individuals who commit genocide, crimes against humanity,
and war crimes in countries that are unable or unwilling to try crimes themselves. The court is based
in The Hague and was formally ratified by a treaty in 2002.
Yet nine of the ten ICC investigations have been based in the African countries of Kenya, Ivory
Coast, Libya, Darfur, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic,
Uganda, and Mali. The ICC has also opened preliminary investigations in Georgia and Afghanistan.
But so far, the ICC has indicted 39 individuals -- all Africans.
At least three of ICC's current trials include Africans like former Ivory Coast President Laurent
Gbagbo and his alley Charles Ble Goude, former Congolese Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba, and
Congolese warload Bosco Ntaganda. Suspects convicted of crimes against humanity are also African,
the International Business Times reported.
The ICC has yet to prosecute any leaders from the West -- and not all countries, including the United
States, are members. The court failed to indict former British Prime Minister Tony Blair even after
finding that his country had other options to take aside from joining the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in
2003. ICC prosecutors said that they would look for evidence of war crimes committed by British
troops, but that Blair would not be prosecuted because the decision "falls outside the Court's
jurisdiction."
"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," a statement from the Gambian government read in part.
Gambian president Yahya Jammeh has also called on the court to investigate and prosecute the
European Union for the thousands of African migrants and refugees who have died on their journey
across the Mediterranean Sea. A government statement said that the ICC has yet to respond to his
request.
The court mostly relies on governments and the U.N. Security Council to refer investigations. Half of
the open ICC investigations were instigated by the African governments of Uganda, DRC, the CAR,
and Mali, which referred cases to the ICC -- diminishing some of the claims of bias in the court. And
the workload for the ICC is also somewhat reduced because countries like Yugoslavia and Cambodia
already have independent courts, the Washington Post pointed out last year.
The significance of Gambia's departure from the ICCThere are 34 African countries that make up the
regional bloc of the 124 countries within the ICC, or nearly one-third. Gambia's withdrawal-especially as the third country to voice dissatisfaction over ICC's disproportionate focus on African
crimes -- could help bring an exodus of other African countries after putting pressure on the court to
"fight off allegations of pursuing a neo-colonial agenda in Africa," Reuters reported.
South Africa, an arguably more influential country, drew the greatest concern last Friday when it
announced its departure from the court. The decision came largely after Sudanese President Omar

al-Bashir was able to visit the country for an African Union summit despite having an ICC warrant
over war crime allegations relating to the Darfur conflict.
"The Burundi decision was easy to dismiss as a government seeking to avoid direct scrutiny; South
Africa's is much more significant," David L. Bosco, an associate professor of international studies at
Indiana University who has written a book on the court, told the New York Times. "The African
Union has been a forum for anti-I.C.C. sentiment, and countries like Kenya and Uganda may now
seek to capitalize on the momentum."
Burundi's withdrawal follows the ICC's preliminary investigation into human rights abuse allegations
in the country where political upheaval between pro-government forces and opposition
demonstrators triggered the deaths of at least 430 people last year and a tidal wave of refugees into
neighboring countries.
Other African countries have already expressed concern over the ICC. Early last year, Kenya
President Uhuru Kenyatta called the court a "far cry from the expectations and aspirations Africa
harboured when it formed the decisive block that brought the court into being." He added that while
other countries had "strong reservations," Kenya had joined the court because of a "desire for an
international community in which all nations are on a level playing field of justice and
accountability." He added, "Unfortunately, every one of those reservations has been borne out in the
Kenyan cases. Their assessment of the court was correct."
Most recently, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni called the ICC "useless" while praising both
South Africa and Burundi's decisions to leave the court.
"It is a very good decision that South Africa has done that. In fact, it is (the ICC) that is very
useless," he told reporters during a visit in Zambia to celebrate the country's National Day.
What happens nextGambia can't leave the ICC immediately. To permanently quit from the court, the
Gambia has to send a letter to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The withdrawal will
then take effect in one year.
https://thinkprogress.org/the-gambia-icc-dd3b4b20d673