Burundi, South Africa urged to not quit ICC

DAKAR, Senegal (AA) – A senior official of the International Criminal Court has urged Burundi and South Africa to reconsider their decision to withdraw from The Hague-based tribunal.

Speaking at a press conference in the Senegalese capital of Dakar Monday evening, Sidiki Kaba, president of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the ICC, said: "We must give a chance to dialogue and discuss these issues at the meeting of member states to be held from Nov. 16-24, 2016, at The Hague to find a consensus."

Kaba, who is also Senegal’s justice minister, called on ICC members to listen to the criticism of countries who want to leave the tribunal. “The Assembly of States Parties is the framework that was created to listen and make changes," he said.

He said the ICC was being criticized for prosecuting mostly Africans.

He said if Burundi and South Africa maintained their decision to withdraw from the ICC, then it would become effective within a year.

On Oct. 17, Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza signed a decree to withdraw from the ICC, a decision that was criticized by the international community. Opposition parties and civil society members said the decision reflected the alleged involvement of Bujumbura in crimes against humanity and violations of human rights.

Last Friday, South Africa’s Justice Minister Michael Masutha said his country had also begun a formal process to withdraw from the ICC.

South Africa’s main opposition party Democratic Alliance later challenged the government’s decision to withdraw from the ICC in the country’s Constitutional Court.