<\/p>\n
Chad has become the latest country to announce plans to withdraw from the ICC, joining Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger in questioning the legitimacy of the Hague-based tribunal.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The military government has accused the ICC of \u201climited effectiveness\u201d and of disproportionately targeting African countries, arguing that many of the court\u2019s investigations have focused on the continent.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Africa Analyst and Africa Briefing<\/em> Publisher Jonathan Offei-Ansah said Chad\u2019s criticism reflects concerns that have long shaped Africa\u2019s relationship with the ICC. \u201cThere is a legitimate criticism at the heart of Chad\u2019s arguments,\u201d Offei-Ansah said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Speaking to Channel Africa on Tuesday, Offei-Ansah said the ICC\u2019s record has been disproportionately African, especially during its first two decades, while alleged crimes involving powerful Western countries and allies often appear to receive less urgent attention. \u201cThe imbalance has damaged confidence in the court and reinforced the belief that international justice is more easily imposed on weaker states,\u201d Offei-Ansah said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n However, Offei-Ansah said that criticism does not automatically justify Chad\u2019s withdrawal.\u201cA government cannot simply point to double standards elsewhere and conclude that its own officials should no longer face external scrutiny. Selective justice is a problem, but the alternative cannot be no justice,\u201d Offei-Ansah said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Offei-Ansah noted that several African cases reached the ICC through referrals by African governments, including Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic and Mali. \u201cThe real question, therefore, is whether Chad wants a fairer system of justice or less accountability,\u201d Offei-Ansah said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n According to Offei-Ansah, Chad\u2019s future conduct will determine how the withdrawal is interpreted. If Chad strengthens domestic courts and supports credible African justice institutions, the argument for reform will carry more weight. If prosecutions disappear, the bias argument may appear to be a shield against accountability.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Offei-Ansah said the changing political landscape in the Sahel has also shaped the decision. Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have already broken from the Economic Community of West African States, strained relations with France and moved to build alternative regional structures. \u201cMoving from the ICC is just another step in asserting their sovereignty,\u201d Offei-Ansah said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n On the ICC\u2019s jurisdiction, Offei-Ansah said countries that opt out of the Rome Statute place themselves beyond the court\u2019s direct reach. \u201cIf you opt out, you\u2019re not part of it. Nobody can touch you. Simple as that,\u201d Offei-Ansah said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Offei-Ansah said the African Union (AU) can raise concerns about inequality in the ICC system, but has limited power to influence how the court functions. \u201cThe court is not going to collapse because a few countries have left,\u201d Offei-Ansah said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Offei-Ansah said the ICC must address perceptions of bias if the institution wants to retain legitimacy. \u201cIt needs to ensure equity in whatever it does in its jurisdiction,\u201d Offei-Ansah said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n –ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":40950,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[78,26],"class_list":["post-40949","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-featured","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Chad\u2019s planned withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC) has renewed debate over selective justice, sovereignty and accountability in Africa.","published_date":"","news_description":"Chad\u2019s planned withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC) has renewed debate over selective justice, sovereignty and accountability in Africa.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/40949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/40949\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40951,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/40949\/revisions\/40951"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=40949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}