Gambia and South Africa to remain in the International Criminal Court
| Publisher | International Federation for Human Rights |
| Publication Date | 24 February 2017 |
| Cite as | International Federation for Human Rights, Gambia and South Africa to remain in the International Criminal Court, 24 February 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58b3ff284.html [accessed 5 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
On 22 February, the South African High Court declared the South African Presidential decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) Statute unconstitutional and led president Zuma to revoke the notice of withdrawal. This move follows the announcement, last 17 February, by the United Nations Secretary-General confirming that Gambia decided to reverse its withdrawal from the Statute of the ICC and to consider itself as a State Party. Our organisations applaud this prevalence of the rule of law and this move made by the newly elected president of The Gambia, Adama Barrow, and by South African President Zuma to strengthen their commitment to human rights and ending impunity. We encourage all States Parties to the Rome Statute to continue to support the Court and victims of international crimes.
Under the previous Presidency, on 8 November 2016, Gambia decided to withdraw from the ICC Statute, in accordance with Article 127 of the Rome Statute. The withdrawal only takes effect one year after the date of receipt of the notification by the UN Secretary General. During that time, the decision to withdraw can be reversed without having to go through the entire ratification process again.
Our organisations also welcome the South African High Court decision of 22 February recognising that the South Africa executive decision to withdraw from the ICC Statute without any Parliamentary approval is unconstitutional and invalid. President Zuma together with the Ministers of Justice and Correctional Services and International Relations and Cooperation were ordered to revoke the notice of withdrawal.
These decisions have even more isolated Burundi that had made similar declarations of withdrawal from the ICC Statute in October 2016, for internal political reasons, frustrating opportunities for accountability and effectiveness of victims' rights to see justice being done for the grave crimes they have suffered. We encourage those States to join Gambia's path and remain in the ICC.
Theses Gambia and South African decisions also confirm that the announced massive African withdrawal from the ICC is above all rhetoric. Botswana, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Lesotho, Mali, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Tunisia and Zambia are among those that have reaffirmed their support for the ICC. Together with Liberia and Cape Verde, many of those countries also pushed back against adoption of a so-called "ICC withdrawal strategy" at the last African Union summit in January.
If the ICC has opened investigations in African countries during its first years of existence, it is in part because African States themselves overwhelmingly supported the creation of the ICC since 1998 by ratifying the Rome Statute and took a global leadership role in advancing the movement for accountability. Many African States have referred their own cases to the ICC to investigate the most serious crimes committed on their soil. Furthermore, in 2016 the ICC has opened an investigation into the situation in Georgia and at this moment six out of the ten situations under preliminary examination concern situations outside of Africa (Afghanistan, Colombia, Comoros/Greece/Cambodia, Palestine, UK/Iraq, Ukraine).
