Ethiopia slams ICC for 'unfair' treatment of Africa

Email|Print|Comments       twitter     facebook     Sina Microblog     reddit    

ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 11 -- Ethiopian Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom slammed the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday for its "unfair and unjust" treatment of African countries.

Speaking at the opening of a special African Union (AU) summit here, Adhanom said Africa's unwavering commitment to fighting impunity and promoting democracy, rule of law and good governance throughout the continent is clearly reflected in the Constitutive Act of the Union.

The Rome Statue establishing the ICC also stipulates the same principles and objectives, said the minister. "Unfortunately, the manner in which the court has been operating, particularly its unfair treatment of Africa and Africans, leaves much to be desired. "

"Far from promoting justice and reconciliation and contributing to the advancement of peace and stability in our continent, the court has transformed itself into a political instrument targeting Africa and Africans. This unfair and unjust treatment is totally unacceptable and that is why we have been expressing our serious concern against the ICC," he said.

Foreign ministers and other representatives from 34 AU member states attended the opening session of the two-day summit, themed "Africa's Relationship with the International Criminal Court." Heads of state and government will convene on Saturday.

AU Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma noted that the fight against impunity is inscribed in the very founding vision of the African Union.

"It is clearly articulated in the AU Constitutive Act and other relevant AU instruments, as well as in various decisions of the AU' s policy organs," said Dlamini-Zuma.

The AU's policy is non-indifference and that means "whatever concerns our citizens have in any part of our continent should be our collective concern," she said.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and Vice-President William Ruto face crimes against humanity charges by the ICC for their alleged links to Kenya's post-election violence in 2007-2008.

• China congratulates Ethiopian President-elect Mulatu
• CPC delegation on visit to Ethiopia
• Chinese gov't, medical staff win acclaim in Ethiopia
• Ethiopia signs $800m mobile network deal with ZTE
• Chinese, Western business leaders to build ties at Paris capital conference
• Chinese president meets Ethiopian prime minister in Beijing
• Chinese Premier talks with Ethiopian PM on stronger ties
• Li urges further Ethiopian ties
• Ethiopian PM arrives in Beijing for visit
• Ethiopia, China eye stronger ties

We Recommend

• 2013 Colour Me Rad 5K run held in Canada
• China's destroyer Qingdao sails out of Sydney Harbor
• Chinese tycoon aims to restore London's Crystal Palace
• Typhoon Fitow affects 4.56 million people in east China
• Game for the brave: 'Spiders' in Yandang Mountains
• Travel peak witnessed on last day of National Day holiday
• New couples take wedding photos during holiday
• Serena Williams stumbles through to quarterfinals
• Thailand Mobile Expo 2013 kicks off