Decision on the Implementation of the assembly Decisions on the International Criminal Court – Doc. EX.CL/670(XIX)

Jurisdiction
African Regional Bodies · African Union (AU)
Citation
Assembly/AU/Dec.366(XVII)
Regional Body / Author
Assembly of the African Union
Date
1 July 2011
Language
English
Type
Statement

DECISION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ASSEMBLY
DECISIONS ON THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT
Doc. EX.CL/670(XIX)

The Assembly,

  1. TAKES NOTE of the Progress Report of the Commission on the Implementation of Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.296 (XV) adopted by the Fifteenth Ordinary Session of the Assembly in Kampala, Uganda on 31 July 2010;

  2. REITERATES its commitment to fight impunity in conformity with the provisions of Article 4(h) of the Constitutive Act of the African Union;

  3. STRESSES the need to pursue all efforts and explore ways and means of ensuring that the request by the African Union (AU) to the United Nations (UN) Security Council to defer the proceedings initiated against President Bashir of The Sudan, in accordance with Article 16 of the Rome Statute of International Criminal Court (ICC) on deferral of cases by the UN Security Council, be acted upon, and in this regard, REITERATES its request to the UN Security Council; and REQUESTS the African members of the UN Security Council to place the matter on the agenda of the Council;

  4. ALSO STRESSES the need to pursue all efforts in ensuring that the request by the AU to the UN Security Council to defer the investigations and prosecutions in relation to the 2008 post-election violence in Kenya under Article 16 of the Rome Statute be acted upon to allow for a National Mechanism to investigate and prosecute the cases under a reformed Judiciary provided for in the new constitutional dispensation, in line with the principle of complementarity;

  5. REAFFIRMS that by receiving President Bashir, the Republic of Chad, Kenya, and Djibouti were discharging their obligations under Article 23 of the Constitutive Act of the African Union and Article 98 of the Rome Statute as well as acting in pursuit of peace and stability in their respective regions;

  6. EXPRESSES DEEP CONCERN at the manner in which the ICC Prosecutor handles the situation in Libya which was referred to the ICC by the UN Security Council through Resolution 1970 (2011). The Assembly NOTES that the warrant of arrest issued by the Pre-Trial Chamber concerning Colonel Qadhafi, seriously complicates the efforts aimed at finding a negotiated political solution to the crisis in Libya, which will also address, in a mutually-reinforcing way, issues relating to impunity and reconciliation. In this regard, the Assembly DECIDES that Member States shall not cooperate in the execution of the arrest warrant, and REQUESTS the UN Security Council to activate the provisions of Article 16 of the Rome Statute with a view to deferring the ICC process on Libya, in the interest of Justice as well as peace in the country;

  7. REQUESTS the Group of African States Parties in New York and in the Hague as well as the African Members of the UN Security Council to closely follow-up on the implementation of the Assembly’s Decisions on ICC;

  8. ALSO REQUESTS the Commission in collaboration with the Permanent Representatives’ Committee to reflect on how best Africa’s interests can be fully defended and protected in the international judicial system, and to actively pursue the implementation of the Assembly’s Decisions on the African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples’ Rights being empowered to try serious international crimes committed on African soil;

  9. REQUESTS the Commission to follow-up on this matter and to report regularly on the implementation of the various Assembly decisions on ICC.

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