Africa can bridge the international justice divide between policy and practice
Despite some African leaders' bluster, this ICC ASP side event will provide evidence of international justice from West, East and Southern Africa.
Date: 2015-11-19
Time: 13:00 to 14:45
Venue: Oceania 2
, World Forum Building
, The Hague
Attendance at this side event requires prior accreditation from the Secretariat of the ICC Assembly of States Parties.
The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and the Government of The Netherlands are hosting a side event at the 14th session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Lessons from West, East and Southern Africa show how states are dealing with Rome Statute crimes at the national level. Political rhetoric and the actions of some states suggest that Africa does not, in practice, support international criminal justice. The facts from the ground tell a different story.
At this event, local experts will discuss ICC preliminary examinations and situations in West Africa, and lessons from the region in fighting impunity, including domestic and regional initiatives like the special tribunal in Senegal to try Hissène Habré. They will also cover developments in East Africa where transitional justice processes have been used, as well as prospects for a tribunal in South Sudan. In Southern Africa, the landmark decision of South Africa’s Constitutional Court on the Zimbabwe torture case establishes a progressive framework for prosecuting international crimes.
Copies of Max du Plessis’s latest ISS policy brief The Zimbabwe torture docket decision and proactive complementarity will be available at the event.
Chair: Jemima Njeri Kariri, Senior Researcher, ISS
Introductory remarks: HE Jan-Lucas van Hoorn, Permanent Representative of The Netherlands to the ICC
Speakers:
- Dr Max du Plessis, Senior Research Associate, ISS, Associate Professor, University of KwaZulu-Natal, and practising advocate
- Ottilia Maunganidze, Senior Researcher, Office of the Managing Director, ISS
- Melissa Omene, Program Officer, Nigerian Coalition for the International Criminal Court
