The member states of the African
Union have adopted a motion calling on its member states to disregard the
arrest warrant issued against Muammar Gaddafi by the International Criminal
Court.
The AU decision is an expression
of frustration with U.S./NATO intervention in Libya, as well as a significant
blow to the ICC—one that exposes the hypocrisy of the ICC process.
AU Chairman Jean Ping stated
that the ICC is “discriminatory,” focusing on crimes committed in Africa while
ignoring those committed by Western powers—including U.S. war crimes in
Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan.
“With this in mind, we recommend
that the member states do not cooperate with the execution of this arrest
warrant,” the motion said.
The AU resolution openly flouts
the technical adherence of a number of African states to the ICC. The ICC is
the product of previous attempts at international jurisprudence following World
Wars I and II and concerning conflicts like Yugoslavia and Rwanda in the 1990s.
Ratified in 2002, the court includes 114 member states.
The arrest warrant for Gaddafi
acts very directly as an instrument of regime change. The ICC has jurisdiction
over crimes committed by nationals of its member countries, or committed in the
territory of a member country—but Libya is not a member of the ICC. However,
the ICC will also act upon referrals from the U.S.-dominated Security Council,
as it has done in this case.
The U.S. government, for its part,
never ratified its membership in the ICC, and has generally rejected ICC
jurisdiction for fear that U.S. leaders could face prosecution for their
numerous crimes against humanity. Washington has pursued bilateral agreements
with a number of countries to protect U.S. nationals from being handed over to
the ICC. Overt rejection of the ICC was especially strong under George W. Bush,
whose criminal record speaks for itself.
Nevertheless, the U.S. government
has managed to use the ICC to advance its own imperialist agenda. It had no
objection to the Security Council’s referral of oil-rich Sudan to the ICC in
2005. And now, it has voted with the Security Council to refer the situation in
Libya to the ICC as well.
Not good enough to prosecute
Washington’s war criminals, but not a bad tool against Washington’s targets.
That has been the orientation of the U.S. government toward the ICC.
While countries such as the United
States and Israel remain out of the ICC’s reach, African countries have been
repeatedly targeted for investigation and prosecution. In fact, every situation
investigated or prosecuted by the ICC focuses on African states.
The AU has pointed out this
hypocrisy, and has potentially damaged use of the ICC as an effective agent of
regime change.
The AU, however, still
collaborates with the ICC on other cases. While they often oppose ICC moves
against African heads of state, many AU countries work with the court to carry
out “victor’s justice” with war crimes indictments being used as political
weapons.
The AU’s opposition to the ICC
arrest warrant against Gaddafi is entirely justified, serving as an important
exposure of the racist hypocrisy of “international justice” in the age of
imperialism.
