Gambia is calling out the International Criminal Court, claiming they only convict African leaders

[loyola llothta]

Gambia withdraws from International Criminal Court


African nation says ICC persecuting "people of colour" but ex-prosecutor says continent's leaders covering up crimes.

Gambia has announced its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court, accusing the Hague-based tribunal of "persecution and humiliation of people of colour, especially Africans".

Tuesday's announcement comes after similar decisions earlier this month by South Africa andBurundi to abandon the institution, set up to try the world's worst crimes.

The ICC was set up in 2002 and is often accused of bias against Africa and has also struggled with a lack of cooperation, including from the US, which has signed the court's treaty but never ratified it.

The court had been used "for the persecution of Africans and especially their leaders" while ignoring crimes committed by the West, Sheriff Bojang, Gambia's information minister, said on state television.

He singled out the case of Tony Blair, former British prime minister, who the ICC decided not to indict over the Iraq war.

"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," Bojang said.

The withdrawal, he said, "is warranted by the fact that the ICC, despite being called International Criminal Court, is in fact an International Caucasian Court for the persecution and humiliation of people of colour, especially Africans".

Gambia has been trying, without success, to use the ICC to punish the EU for the deaths of thousands of African refugees and migrants trying to reach its shores.

The decision will also come as a personal blow to the court's chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, a former Gambian justice minister.

Burundi had said earlier this month it would leave the court, while Namibia and Kenya have also raised the possibility.

OPINION: African leaders and the bias of international justice

Over the weekend, the ICC asked South Africa and Burundi to reconsider their decisions, which came as a major blow to the institution.

"I urge them to work together with other states in the fight against impunity, which often causes massive violations of human rights," Sidiki Kaba, president of the assembly of state parties to the ICC founding treaty, said in a statement.

Alleged war crimes
South Africa's decision followed a dispute last year when Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir visited the country despite being the subject of an ICC arrest warrant over alleged war crimes.

Kaba said he was concerned that South Africa and Burundi's decisions would pave the way for other African states to leave the court.

The tribunal is entrusted with "prosecuting the most serious crimes that shock the conscience of humanity, namely genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes of aggression".



Luis Moreno Ocampo, the former ICC chief prosecutor, criticised Burundi and South Africa, accusing them of giving leaders on the continent a free hand "to commit genocide".

"Burundi is leaving the ICC to keep committing crimes against humanity and possible genocide in its territory. Burundi's president wants free hands to attack civilians," he said.

He said Nelson Mandela, the former South African president, had "promoted the establishment of the Court to avoid new massive crimes in Africa. Now under the [Jacob] Zuma leadership, South Africa decided to cover up the crimes and abandoned African victims. The world is going backward.

"The chaos is coming. Genocide in Burundi and a new African war are in motion."

Inside Story - What's causing the unrest in Gambia?

AMBIA VS ICC

• South Africa, Burundi also leaving ICC
• 30 Western ‘war criminals’ not indicted
• ICC didn't punish EU for refugees deaths

Gambia withdraws from International Criminal Court

 

[mr.africa]

been saying this for years, bout time our leaders grew some balls.

 

[loyola llothta]

@Kitsch

 

[Kitsch]

Right and exact.

 

[mcdivit85]

Black people around the world are starting to get that 19th century "f#ck that" energy back

Peace

 

[Trajan]

Omar al-Bashir must be at this new movement

 

[Koba St]

The ICC has rightly convicted a lot of African war criminals who deserve to be in jail. They might be biased but at least they're delivering justice for millions of Africans who have suffered under those criminals.

 

[ORDER_66]

The ICC has rightly convicted a lot of African war criminals who deserve to be in jail. They might be biased but at least they're delivering justice for millions of Africans who have suffered under those criminals.

And what happens to white leaders who drone strikes innocent people on foreign soil? they get nothing but a slap on the wrist c'mon son. Theyre right. Africa war criminals are prosecuted harshly others are not. How can this institution be hypocritical? If your gonna punish africans punish everyone else. its bullshyt.

 

[TRFG]

And what happens to white leaders who drone strikes innocent people on foreign soil? they get nothing but a slap on the wrist c'mon son. Theyre right. Africa war criminals are prosecuted harshly others are not. How can this institution be hypocritical? If your gonna punish africans punish everyone else. its bullshyt.

I'd like to know to

 

[Koba St]

And what happens to white leaders who drone strikes innocent people on foreign soil? they get nothing but a slap on the wrist c'mon son. Theyre right. Africa war criminals are prosecuted harshly others are not. How can this institution be hypocritical? If your gonna punish africans punish everyone else. its bullshyt.

Who cares about white people? If they were convicting innocent African leaders then you'd have a point, but they're not. Just because white leaders get away with crime, you want innoncent Africans to suffer too?

 

[loyola llothta]

And what happens to white leaders who drone strikes innocent people on foreign soil? they get nothing but a slap on the wrist c'mon son. Theyre right. Africa war criminals are prosecuted harshly others are not. How can this institution be hypocritical? If your gonna punish africans punish everyone else. its bullshyt.

Obama drone strike african and middle eastern nations...killed thousands of innocent africans/&arabs but but but

 

[notPsychosiz]

That isn't a claim its a statemenrt of fact.
The IOC has only ever tried Africans. Its solely there to try and convict black world leaders.

So far the court has been used against the congo, mali, sudan, uganfa, the central africam republic, kenya, libiya, and numerous other African countries but not a single case has ever been raised against anyone outsife of Africa. Including the Nazis of Germany, the filthy cacs of the American government invading Iraq, or the wretched cac jews occipying Palestine.

Africa should expel all UN agents from its lands and send the filthy cac interlopers in South Africa back to their Dutch homeland.
Or if they never make it there, thats fine too.
The UN is only in Africa to steal, infect blacks with diseases, sterilize black women, and rape children.

Really they should slaughter UN agents on sight over there.

This is the current map of who the Internatonal court is harrassing.
Thus far the only ppl to ever be tried and convicted of anything are all from Africa.

 

[ORDER_66]

Who cares about white people? If they were convicting innocent African leaders then you'd have a point, but they're not. Just because white leaders get away with crime, you want innoncent Africans to suffer too?

You....
are...
missing...
the...
point...

 

[Koba St]

Omar al-Bashir must be at this new movement

He commited genocide against black Africans but who cares, let's stick it to white people.

 

[loyola llothta]

That isn't a claim its a statemenrt of fact.
The IOC has only ever tried Africans. Its solely there to try and convict black world leaders.

So far the court has been used against the congo, mali, sudan, uganfa, the central africam republic, kenya, libiya, and numerous other African countries but not a single case has ever been raised against anyone outsife of Africa. Including the Nazis of Germany, the filthy cacs of the American government invading Iraq, or the wretched cac jews occipying Palestine.

Africa should expel all UN agents from its lands and send the filthy cac interlopers in South Africa back to their Dutch homeland.
Or if they never make it there, thats fine too.
The UN is only in Africa to steal, infect blacks with diseases, sterilize black women, and rape children.

Really they should slaughter UN agents on sight over there.

This is the current map of who the Internatonal court is harrassing.
Thus far the only ppl to ever be tried and convicted of anything are all from Africa.

same thing in Haiti....and they still havent left the island even when the community protest them to leave and stop raping