As the International Criminal Court gears up to elect six judges and a new prosecutor, observers are warning that political rather than merit-based considerations could govern the evaluation of candidates.
At about 9 pm on May 10, British human rights lawyer Clara Gutteridge arrived at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport from Dar es Salaam, where she was investigating the arrests of Tanzanians accused of terrorism.
A decision to exclude crimes committed in the western city of Kisumu and the Nairobi slum of Kibera from a case against alleged organisers of violence following Kenya’s 2007 election could undermine the International Criminal Court’s effort to combat impunity in the East African nation, civil society groups have warned.
On its face, Kenya’s failed bid to defer International Criminal Court cases against alleged organisers of post-election violence in 2007-2008 was a story of changing positions. But to argue that either the U.S. or Africa has switched sides in the debate over the appropriate role of the ICC is too simplistic.
Two alleged organisers of violence around Kenya’s December 2007 elections delivered impassioned speeches during a raucous political rally in Nairobi on Monday, just days after an International Criminal Court judge advised them to refrain from inflammatory language.
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