This coming week the Institute for Security Studies will
host the ICC Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, in Pretoria for a seminar on ‘Setting the
Record Straight: the ICC’s New Prosecutor Responds to African Concerns’. According to the seminar invite:
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu recently declined to share
a public platform with Tony Blair out of concern that some leaders evade
justice for atrocities like the 2003 invasion of Iraq, while their African
peers are ‘made to answer for their actions in The Hague’. A vocal supporter of
the International Criminal Court, Tutu’s comments nevertheless reflect concerns
about the double standards that characterize international criminal justice, as
well as the ICC’s perceived focus only on Africa. The court is not responsible
for the international political world in which it works but questions about
prosecutorial discretion can be asked of the ICC. These questions relate to
which leaders are targeted by the ICC as well as the timing of indictments
during armed conflicts.
The ICC’s new chief prosecutor … is visiting South Africa
for the first time since her appointment. She will discuss these concerns and
the future of the court’s work in Africa.
The Prosecutor will be speaking with Max du Plessis, who will be discussing South Africa’s position on the ICC in the context of
African concerns. The seminar invitation can be found here. If you are in
Pretoria and surrounds this week this event is not to be missed.