The latest country to announce it’s withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC) is Gambia, along with Burundi, South Africa and moves by the African Union to leave! Basically this feels like the end for the troubled court!

Set up in 2002 to punish the worst crimes in the world, the court has long suffered accusations that it is biased against Africa. Add this to the fact that although the US signed the treaty, it never actually ratified it!

Sheriff Bojang, Gambia’s information minister, said on state television that the ICC had ignored crimes committed by the west and had been used “for the persecution of Africans and especially their leaders”.

He was quick to point a finger at Tony Blair, the former UK Prime Minsiter, whom many believe should face war crimes. The ICC decided not to indict him over the war in Iraq!

Bojang continued:

“There are many Western countries, at least 30, that have committed heinous war crimes against independent sovereign states and their citizens since the creation of the ICC and not a single Western war criminal has been indicted,”

And that the withdrawal

“is warranted by the fact that the ICC, despite being called International Criminal Court, is in fact an International Caucasian Court for the persecution and humiliation of people of colour, especially Africans”

Gambia has been leading a charge to try and push the ICC to punish the EU for the deaths of thousands of African refugees that have been trying to reach the continent.

The current ICC Prosecutor Bensouda is a former Gambian justice minister, so many felt the country had a tie to stay in the court!

Nambia and Kenya are also potentially on the verge of leaving which may effectively spell the end of the court.

Some have accused certain countries of wanting to leave to avoid being investigated and charged for their own crimes!

Read more here.