The framing of the African Union in international criminal law : a racialized logic

Research output: Other contribution

Abstract

The International Criminal Court (ICC) 'has been put in place only for African countries, only for poor countries...Every year that passes, I am proved right.... Rwanda cannot be part of colonialism, slavery and imperialism'. These words by Rwandan President and newly elected chairperson of the African Union (AU), Paul Kagame, have become widespread within the AU in response to the Court's overwhelming investigations and prosecutions of Africans. Yet, many of the ICC's proponents have dismissed neocolonial criticism of the Court, to some extent with good reason. It is difficult not to read Kagame's statement and similar statements by AU representatives as self-serving in the context of ongoing human rights abuses and violence perpetrated against civilians. But another way to read or 'misread' these statements is by looking at the relationship between the ICC as an institution of international criminal law (ICL) and the legacies of colonialism. In this vein, I want to highlight a growing pattern, within ICL discourses, of framing the AU as the antithesis of the ideals articulated in the ICC project. Broadly informed by Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL), I want to call attention, in particular, to the racialized logic upon which this deeply structural framing device rests.
Original languageEnglish
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018

Publication series

NameFebruary 20, 2018
VolumeFebruary 20, 2018

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