Amb. Kanu
Following is a statement by Ambassador Allieu Ibrahim Kanu to the 12th session of the Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court, The Hague - 20th November 2013
Madam President, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, this Assembly meets at a very crucial time in the life of the International Criminal Court, a Court to which Thirty-Four (34) Countries in our African Region are states parties and form the largest single block of the membership of the Court. I can recall that during the negotiations for the crafting of the Rome statute and the other constitutive documents of the Court, African countries played a significant and pivotal role in those negotiations.
During those negotiations, our Country, Sierra Leone was at the forefront of the fight against immunity, bearing in mind the horrendous crimes committed in our own country and indeed worldwide.
Distinguished colleagues, as recent as 26th September 2013, the Special Court for Sierra Leone issued its landmark decision in the appeal of former President Charles Ghankay Taylor. The Court indicted Taylor while he was still President of the Republic of Liberia. His legal team raised the issue of Taylor’s immunity as President of Liberia and thus challenged the Jurisdiction of the Court. The challenge failed and the issue of immunity was rejected by the Court. The Sierra Leone Institute of International Law believes that decision was right and re-enforced by Articles 27 (1 & 2) of the 1998 Rome Statute. The impact of the Taylor conviction cannot be overstated. The Institute and Civil Society Organisations are engaged in the fight against impunity and support the fight against impunity and for accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. The Sierra Leone Institute of International law and other Civil Society Organisations are behind Sierra Leone’s fight against impunity worldwide. Our position is informed both by what is right and by our own experience during the 1990s.
Madam President, the Institute believes the recent decision of the UN Security Council to reject the African Union-sponsored Resolution on the deferral of the Kenya situation re-enforces the fact that both the Court and the Security Council have different mandates, one to prosecute crimes within the 1998 Rome Statute, the other the maintenance of International Peace and Security. Both mandates re-enforce the concept of Peace and Justice – both concepts being mutually inclusive.
In the past when the ICC has been under attack, Sierra Leone has been among the states raising its voice in support of the Court and the principles for which it stands. There is no doubt that the Court is at this moment being attacked by some member states because their perceived interests which are at variance with what the Court stands for are being challenged.
Ladies and Gentlemen this is the time we all have to unite behind the Court. We must again play this role and it is fitting that we all unite behind the Court. We in Sierra Leone have been proud to support the Court and we shall continue to play a pivotal role in support of victims and communities affected by violence committed during conflicts or elections. It is right and fitting that we all support the Court in its historic journey. We must all continue to raise our voices in support of victims, in support of communities affected by crimes and in support of accountability, the rule of law and the fight against impunity in Africa and worldwide.
I thank you for your attention.
Ambassador Allieu Ibrahim Kanu is a former Sierra Leone Ambassador to the United Nations.
(C) Politico 12/12/13
