Like South Africa, Gambia Plans To Exit Icc

BEVERLY HILLS, October 26, (THEWILL) – The Gambia may soon join South Africa to pull out of the International Criminal Court (ICC) after accusing the tribunal of persecuting and humiliating Africans.

According to Gambian Information Minister, Sheriff Bojang, the court had ignored Western war crimes but has been unfairly targeting African leaders.

He said the ICC, set up to try the world's worst crimes, had failed to indict former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, and former American President, George Bush, over the Iraq war.

Speaking on state television, he said the ICC was “an International Caucasian Court for the persecution and humiliation of people of colour, especially Africans”.

Although, the ICC's chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, is a former Gambian justice minister, the country has been unsuccessfully trying to have the European Union indicted by the court over the deaths of thousands of African migrants trying to reach the continent by boat.

The ICC, which aims to prosecute and bring to justice those responsible for the worst crimes such as genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes has only brought charges against Africans in the court's 14-year history.

THEWILL recalls that South Africa, last week, revealed that it had formally begun the process of withdrawing from the ICC because it did not want to execute arrest warrants which would lead to regime change.

Burundi has also said it will leave the court, while other Africa countries like Kenya and Namibia have said they might.

Story by Oputah David