AFRICAN LEADERS STAND AGAINST THE ICC

 African nations on Saturday urged the International Criminal Court to defer the crimes against humanity trials of Kenya’s leadership as they convened a special summit on their worsening relations with the tribunal. The meeting at the African Union headquarters comes amid mounting tensions with the ICC, which has been accused of acting like a neo-colonialist institution that has singled out Africans since being set up as the world’s first permanent court to try genocide and war crimes. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto have been charged with crimes against humanity for allegedly masterminding a vicious campaign of ethnic violence that left at least 1,100 dead and more than 600,000 homeless after disputed 2007 elections. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who along with Kenyatta was among the heads of state attending the summit, is wanted by the court in The Hague on 10 counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Sudan’s Darfur conflict. The ICC so far has issued indictments linked to conflicts in nine countries, all of them in Africa. Diplomats with the 54-member AU say there was a sentiment the court — which is an independent body and not part of the United Nations system — was turning a blind eye to other parts of the world. I do not know what it is with these International bodies and their obsession with ruining the image of Africa. Its high time Africa stands up for itself and deal with it's issues.