The International Criminal Court in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract:     
This policy paper is a comparative analysis of the work of the International Criminal Court in Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, and the Central African Republic, and the policy implications for its work for Norway, States Parties, civil society, and key states. The paper argues that all actors, including Norway, should more seriously engage these African states – and key stakeholders within them – to facilitate the work of the ICC to stem impunity. Without such support, the paper concludes, the ICC’s objectives in Africa will not be realized. Each of the four countries under review here has its own unique internal political questions that drive its posture towards the ICC. Deference should be paid to these internal differences. But that should not trump the interests of justice and peace, and the larger international consensus on how to address the question of impunity. Elites in states with a large democratic deficit should be pressed and supported to respond to barbaric atrocities. The paper recommends that the international community works in concert with the ICC to close the “impunity gap”.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 11

Keywords: International Criminal Court, Crimes Against Humanity, Genocide, Sovereignty, African States, Impunity, Stakeholders

working papers series