Skip to Content

African exodus continues as Gambia announces ICC exit

The government of Gambia has announced its intention to leave the International Criminal Court, accusing it of "persecution and humiliation" of Africans. Officials also decried the "genocide" of migrants on Europe's shores.

Published: October 26, 2016, 1:47 pm

    Read more

    The court showed its “true colors” by refusing to prosecute former British Prime Minister Tony Blair for war crimes in Iraq, a Gambian top official said in a televised statement.

    Gambia’s pledge to leave the Hague-based court on Tuesday comes in the wake of similar announcements. Kenya is also considering their withdrawal.

    Africa’s powerhouse South Africa announced on last week that it would withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the United Nations has confirmed receipt of the withdrawal notice on the same day.

    South Africa said last week that it had formally begun the process of withdrawing from the ICC because it did not want to execute arrest warrants which would lead to “regime change”. Last year the government refused to arrest Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the court.

    The move by South Africa came in the same week that Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza signed a decree into law taking his country out of the ICC.

    According to Gambia’s Information Minister, the decision was informed by the International Criminal Court (ICC) ignoring war crimes committed by Western countries.

    The minister denounced the institution as “an International Caucasian Court for the persecution and humiliation of people of color, especially Africans.”

    “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,” he added.

    Since the establishment of the ICC in 2002, the court conducted ten investigations. Nine of them were over crimes on African soil and the remaining case was tied to offenses in Georgia.

    Only Africans have been charged in the six ICC cases that are ongoing or set to begin, AP confirmed.

    During the Tuesday statement, the information minister said that the country had tried to get the ICC to react to “genocide” over migrants trying to reach Europe. A disproportionately large number of them are citizens of Gambia, fleeing the troubled country with a population under two million.

    “Thousands of young Africans in search of greener pastures have been dying on European coasts on weekly basis,” the official stated. “For what crime – because they are black? We depend on almighty Allah and Allah-willing all the racist, genocidal criminals responsible for the continuing mass slaughter of Africans will face justice,” he added.

    The BBC reported that the country has been unsuccessfully trying to have the European Union indicted by the court over the deaths of thousands of African migrants trying to reach the continent by boat.

    Gambian lawyer Fatou Bensouda is the ICC’s current chief prosecutor.

    Over the weekend, AlJazeera reported that the ICC had 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 issued by the court.

    Set up in The Hague, the Netherlands, in 2002, the ICC is tasked with “prosecuting the most serious crimes that shock the conscience of humanity, namely genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes of aggression.”

    It has, however, faced numerous accusations of bias against Africa and struggled with a lack of cooperation from countries including the US and China, which have signed the court’s treaty but never ratified it.

    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 told AlJazeera.

    He said Nelson Mandela, the former South African president, had “promoted the establishment of the Court to avoid new massive crimes in Africa.

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

    karin@praag.org

    Consider donating to support our work

    Help us to produce more articles like this. FreeWestMedia is depending on donations from our readers to keep going. With your help, we expose the mainstream fake news agenda.

    Keep ​your language polite​. Readers from many different countries visit and contribute to Free West Media and we must therefore obey the rules in​,​ for example​, ​Germany. Illegal content will be deleted.

    If you have been approved to post comments without preview from FWM, you are responsible for violation​s​ of​ any​ law. This means that FWM may be forced to cooperate with authorities in a possible crime investigation.

    If your comments are subject to preview ​by FWM, please be patient. We continually review comments but depending on the time of day it can take up to several hours before your comment is reviewed.

    We reserve the right to del​ete​ comments that are offensive, contain slander or foul language, or are irrelevant to the discussion.

    Africa

    South Africa’s infrastructure 30 years after the end of Apartheid

    LondonHating South Africa was part of growing up in North London in the 1980s. Pelle Taylor and Patrick Remington from Two Raven Films, recently interviewed South Africans about the decline of the country after Apartheid ended.

    Nigerian President: More weapons for Ukraine end up in Africa

    LagosSome time ago, FWM reported on arms deliveries to Ukraine, which shortly afterwards were resold on the Internet. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has warned that "weapons used in the war in Ukraine are gradually leaking into the region" and called for strengthened border security.

    Namibia sees opportunity to attract German energy refugees

    Windhoek"The former German colony, Namibia wants to help Germany in its energy crisis". This is how an article in the online edition of a German newspaper recently began about Namibia's new "Digital Nomad" visa. The six-month visa is ideal for long-term holidaymakers. And for professionals who have their office on their laptop and can work from anywhere.

    Uneven global population growth reaches 8 billion

    According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), we celebrated the 8 billionth day* on November 15. The planet's population is still increasing dramatically, albeit at a decreasing pace.

    French fuel debacle spills over to Senegal

    DakarThe recent events at the French embassy in Burkina Faso were yet another demonstration against France on the African continent after France was ousted from Mali. All it took was a rumour to attract the sympathy of the population and demonstrators to head to the French Embassy.

    New South African drone to compete with Turkey’s Bayraktar

    PretoriaThe South African defense company Milkor unveiled its Milkor 380 reconnaissance and attack unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). It is expected to become a competitor to Turkey's Bayraktar and Anka drones.

    Bucking the trend: Uganda bans work by LGBT group

    KampalaThe Ugandan government has banned the activities of a local non-governmental organization that campaigns for the rights of sexual minorities. According to a senior official, the organization worked illegally in the African country.

    South Africa: 82 suspects arrested after a mass rape

    KrugersdorpDozens of black men ambushed a film crew at an abandoned mine near Johannesburg on Friday. They raped eight models between the ages of 19 and 35. As they fled, the police shot dead two suspects and 82 other people were arrested.

    BRICS expansion on the cards

    More and more emerging countries are considering joining the BRICS group, which is seen as the major emerging countries' counterweight to the US-led West and the G7. Especially in times like these, this is also a clear signal to Washington.

    Poland opens border after South Africa complains about their treatment of blacks

    PretoriaThere is a very diverse crowd on the German-Polish border currently trying to take advantage of the war situation. Do they really all come from Ukraine?

    Go to archive