Burundi becomes first to quit International Criminal Court
NEW YORK TIMES
A body of a man waits to be collected on the street following an apparent robbery attempt in Bujumbura, Burundi, the day after President Pierre Nkurunziza won a controversial third term in 2015. One month after a scathing United Nations report that called for a criminal investigation likely to lead back to its leaders, Burundi has withdrawn from the International Criminal Court, becoming the first country in the world to do so.
NAIROBI, Kenya >> One month after a scathing United Nations report that called for a criminal investigation likely to lead back to its leaders, Burundi has withdrawn from the International Criminal Court, becoming the first country in the world to do so.
A U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Burundi reported in September that it had found evidence of extrajudicial killings, disappearances, arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture and sexual violence in the 2 1/2 years since Burundi’s president, Pierre Nkurunziza, muscled his way to a third term in office.
Burundi announced its intention to withdraw last year, at a time when the court was deeply unpopular with African leaders. Gambia and South Africa were also threatening to pull out, and the continent’s top intelligence officials signed a statement accusing the court of being “hijacked by powerful western countries” and “acting as a proxy” for foreign-led regime change. But Nkurunziza can no longer count on leading a wave of exits.
Gambia reversed course on its threat after Yahya Jammeh, its president for 22 years, departed following his electoral defeat by Adama Barrow. South Africa revoked its withdrawal in March.
Nine of the 10 current formal investigations by the office of the court’s prosecutor concern Africa, and all of its trials have involved African defendants.
“I think there is an ongoing concern about the court’s ability to work in countries in Africa,” said Rebecca Hamilton, an assistant professor of law at American University who previously worked in the International Criminal Court’s prosecution division.
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“When you still have a government in power, we’re seeing how difficult it can be to conduct an investigation,” she added.
Burundi might still end up in the court’s sights, however. Under its founding charter, known as the Rome Statute, crimes in nonmember states can still be referred for investigation by the U.N. Security Council. The United Nations’ commission of inquiry on Burundi recommended such a referral.
The court’s work on events in Burundi has been in the exploratory stages, known as a “preliminary examination.” A spokesman for the court said it would retain jurisdiction.
It may struggle to do so, however, according to Mark Kersten, deputy director of the Wayamo Foundation, an international justice organization.
“The rules are clearer on an investigation, but the ICC hasn’t opened one,” he said. “It only has this preliminary examination.”
© 2017 The New York Times Company
