ICC Relations with the African Continent Stabilised – Karim Khan

The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan KC has emphasised that the recently strained relationship between the African continent and the ICC has been addressed by his office since he assumed office in 2021 and is now stabilised.

Mr Karim Khan made the assessment when he addressed the 3rd Eminent Public Lecture in International Criminal Justice at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) under the theme; “Democracy, Elections and Impunity: International Criminal Justice as a Deterrent.”

*Early ICC-Africa relations*

In his lecture, Mr Khan recalled that when the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) referred the situation in Darfur to the ICC in 2005, initial collaboration with Sudan was encouraging. The Office of the Prosecutor at that time according to Karim Khan, “received good cooperation from the Sudanese authorities, including for conducting various investigative missions to Khartoum.”

The ICC Prosecutor further observed that “during those early years, the relationship with the ICC and the African Union was rather close and collaborative, and there were serious ongoing discussions on the establishment of a liaison office in Addis Ababa, similar to the previously established liaison office with the UN in New York so that the exchanges with the regional organisation of the continent where the ICC was mostly engaging would become even more fluid.”

“However, the issuance of arrest warrants against high-profile figures such as Ali Kushayb who is standing trial in The Hague, Ahmed Harun, and particularly former Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir, significantly strained relations.

“The tensions escalated, not only between the ICC and Sudan but also with some other African countries and the African Union, because the ICC was perceived as targeting a sitting head of state, to the extent that some referred to this as anti-African bias,” Mr Khan said.

“The debate over head-of-state immunity and sovereignty of non-State Parties to the Statute became a focal point of this rift. Similar challenges arose during the Kenya situation between 2010 and 2015, where accusations of an anti-African bias against the ICC were further amplified.

“These tensions, as some of you may recall, led to discussions about potential withdrawal from the Court by some African States. The repeated claims of an anti-African bias became a strong narrative against which the Court and its strategies and efforts had to engage for several years in a broader context of the Court’s relations with the African continent and risk of withdrawal from some States Parties,” Mr Khan further stated.

*Work on shortfalls*

This narrative the ICC lead Prosecutor said “overshadowed two tangible realities of the relationship between the Court and the African continent: on the one hand, the fact that many African States have themselves referred the situation on their territory to the ICC to investigate and, on the other hand, that the fate of victims and survivors of alleged atrocities did not seem to matter.”

“These are the shortfalls I have fervently been trying to fix since the start of my tenure in 2021, and I am glad to say, with confidence, that relations are again in a helpful place. As with any human enterprise, international forums or mechanisms such as the Rome Statute and the ICC are not perfect.

“But this is an invaluable tool that we all have joint ownership of, and it requires our utmost commitment and dedication, if it is to survice the modern day challenges. Indeed, the world has become today more divided than it was in the 90’s and we ought to have the courage to acknowledge this reality in which terror has become a common currency and the support for accountability seems to be weakening or opposed,” Mr Karim Khan remarked.

“Altogether, in our respective roles, we must explore other imaginative ways to address today’s and tomorrow’s challenges if we want to uphold the promise of a world in which justice matters and the rights and freedoms of each individual in our societies are respected and protected. We cannot take for granted the progress we have made so far. We must ensure that we do not go back to the dark days,” he further remarked.

*Domesticating the Rome Statute*

In his address, the ICC Prosecutor commended the government of Ghana and the Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame for presenting a bill to Parliament to fully incorporate the Rome Statute into the laws of Ghana to ensure that war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes of aggression, become effectively part of the domestic laws of Ghana in addition to genocide which has already been made part of Ghana’s domestic law.

“The Attorney General’s motion so that Parliament will consider a bill that will seek to domesticate the Rome Statute [is a welcome development] and I applaud that. I think that it is extremely important for us to work together and it is important for me to recognise publicly that international law is not the birthright of one part of the world,” Karim Khan noted.

*Visit to Ghana*

Karim Khan KC visited Ghana at the invitation of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) and the African Centre of International Criminal Justice (ACICJ). He was received at the Kotoka International Airport on Sunday, 13 October 2024 by the Rector of GIMPA, Professor Samuel Kwaku Bonsu, and the Dean of the GIMPA Law School, Dr Kwaku Agyeman-Budu.

As part of this visit, the ICC Prosecutor paid a courtesy call on the Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo at her office and the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame. Mr Khan also visited the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, and the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at their offices.

Mr Khan after delivering GIMPA Law School’s third eminent public lecture also held special question and answer session with GIMPA law students enrolled on the Master of Laws Degree (LL.M) Programme in International Criminal Law and Justice. He is expected to depart Ghana on Wednesday, 16 October 2024.

*ICC-ACICJ agreement*

The International Criminal Court and the African Centre of International Criminal Justice, one of the centres led by Kwaku Agyeman-Budu at GIMPA Law School, signed a memorandum of understanding which will allow the two institutions to cooperate closely in the fight against impunity on the African continent.
The aim is to deepen understanding and appreciation of the role and work of the ICC within the international criminal law and justice architecture. The original agreement was signed by representatives of the two institutions on 6 December 2019 in The Hague, on the sidelines of the Assembly of State Parties of the ICC, which took place that month.
The relationship between the ICC and the ACICJ, which was formalised, has led to the development of courses focusing on international criminal law (in particular the LLM/international criminal law and justice, the first course of its kind in Ghana), participation in the ICC internship programme by ACICJ students, and participation in the ICC visiting professionals programme by ACICJ students and faculty.
It also promotes the exchange of speakers and collaborative initiatives such as lectures, seminars, events, research and scholarship in the area of international criminal law.

*The ACICJ*

The African Centre of International Criminal Justice (ACICJ) is dedicated to growing the body of knowledge on international criminal justice, its necessity and the place of Africa within that paradigm.
The centre was conceived out of the success of the conference “International Criminal Court and Africa: A Discussion of Legitimacy, Impunity, Selectivity, Fairness and Accountability”, held at GIMPA in March 2016.
The ACICJ aims to fight impunity on the global, regional and national levels through education and the dissemination of accurate information regarding the international criminal law and justice regime generally, and the ICC in particular.
The centre is now a focal point for research, scholarship and training on the ICC and broader issues of international justice across the continent.