A network of African civil society and international organisations working in Africa says it is "gravely alarmed by the provision of any immunity for serious crimes committed in violation of international law" which is up for discussion this week in Ethiopia as an amendment to the Statute of the African Court on Justice and Human Rights.
In a letter issued yesterday the civil society bodies called on governments to oppose such immunity for "criminal jurisdiction over genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity", which, according to them, "is now expected to provide immunity for sitting heads of state and other high-level government officials before the African Court."
They argue further that "the irrelevance of official capacity is at the core of making accountability for the gravest crimes meaningful. The alternative would carve out a sphere of impunity for high-level perpetrators, and create an incentive for such perpetrators to hold on to power indefinitely. Such impunity is further inconsistent with the needs of victims and ensuring justice for the gravest crimes".
Referring to the Constitutive Acts of the African Union, the civil society groups say "Immunity for sitting heads of state and other high-level officials for serious crimes would represent a major retreat from these objectives and be inconsistent with the spirit of the AU Constitutive Act".
According to the civil society groups "the irrelevance of official capacity before international criminal courts also has become entrenched in international law", noting that "while other states allow immunity from prosecution domestically, a key purpose of courts that have authority beyond national borders is to enable cases that are not possible before national courts".
The organisations include Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law (CARL - Sierra Leone), Coalition for Justice and Accountability Sierra Leone, Amnesty International, Women’s Initiative for Gender Justice, Media Foundation for West Africa, International Commission of Jurists, National Coalition on Affirmative Action, Nigerian Coalition on the International Criminal Court, Nigeria Women Advocates' Research and Documentation Centre, West African Bar Association, TrustAfrica, International Crime in Africa Programme, Institute for Security Studies, Children’s Education Society, Uganda Coalition on the International Criminal Court, Coalition for the International Criminal Court and Human Rights Watch.
(C) Politico 13/05/14
