21 African civil society groups and international organizations with a presence in Africa released a short but compelling activist video today entitled “AU: Activists Challenge Attacks on ICC.” The project features African activists from many of our CICC member organizations as well as from CICC (Stephen Lamony, Senior Advisor on AU, UN and Africa Situations, and Clément Capo-Chichi, Africa Regional Coordinator) clearing misconceptions about the ICC vis-à-vis Africa, and making the case for African states to engage positively with the ICC.
The video opens by referring to the reported upcoming meeting between the AU open-ended ministerial committee on the ICC and the UN Security Council (date yet to be confirmed but expected to occur after the upcoming 27th AU Summit). As many of you know, some African leaders have repeatedly charged the ICC with targeting Africa and in the past year, and the African Union has been discussing possibly calling for African ICC States Parties to withdraw from the Court. As Ibrahim Tommy, a Sierra Leone activist, says in the video: “The big clash [these days] is over African leaders, the powerful few, who really want impunity for themselves, versus the vast majority, in fact all of the victims of Africa’s continent who want justice every day.”
We hope the video will be of interest and that you will consider sharing it widely with your relevant colleagues and networks, and in particular through Facebook’s larger audience (Facebook post to share).
The 21 organizations, which includes the Coalition for the ICC, forms an informal group working to promote support for justice for grave crimes in Africa and beyond.
The organizatons are as follows:
• Africa Center for International Law and Accountability (Ghana)
• African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (Uganda)
• Africa Legal Aid
• Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law (Sierra Leone)
• Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (Malawi)
• Children Education Society (Tanzania)
• Club des Amis du Droit du Congo (Democratic Republic of Congo)
• Coalition for the International Criminal Court (Burundi)
• Coalition for the International Criminal Court (Global)
• DefendDefenders – East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project
• Fédération Internationale des Ligues des Droits de l’Homme
• Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (Uganda)
• Human Rights Watch
• International Commission of Jurists (Kenya)
• Kenya Human Rights Commission
• Kenyans for Peace with Truth and Justice
• Legal Defense and Assistance Project (Nigeria)
• Nigerian Coalition for the International Criminal Court
• Réseau Justice Et Développement (Togo)
• Southern Africa Litigation Centre
• Southern Africa Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (Zambia)
For more information, please contact:
In Abuja, for LEDAP – Legal Defence & Assistance Project, Chino Edmund Obiagwu (English): +234-0703-000-0014; or +234-012-802-009; or +234-0803-691-3264 (mobile); or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
In Cotonou, for the Coalition for the ICC, Clément Capo-Chichi (French): +229-95-990-707; or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
In Freetown, for Centre for Accountability and the Rule of Law-Sierra Leone, Ibrahim Tommy (English): +232-76-365-499; or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
In Johannesburg, for Southern Africa Litigation Centre, Angela Mudukuti (English): +27-767-623-869; or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
In Kigali, for Burundi Coalition for the ICC, Lambert Nigarura (French): +257-71-741-127; or +250-78-377-0959; or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
In Lilongwe, for Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation, Timothy Mtambo (English): +265-992-166-191; or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
In Nairobi, for Kenya section of the International Commission of Jurists, Stella Ndirangu (English): +254-7222-336-399; or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
In New York, for Human Rights Watch, Elise Keppler (English): +1-917-687-8576 (mobile); +1-212-216-1249 (office); or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Twitter: @EliseKeppler
In New York, for Coalition for the ICC, Steve Lamony (English): +1-347-905-3060; or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
In Kampala, for Foundation for Human Rights Initiative, Penny Mbabazi (English): +256-7777-53566; or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
In Paris, for Club des Amis du Droit du Congo, Eugène Bakama Bope (French): +32-474-607-198; or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
