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Africa News

June 8, 2000

Rwanda; EA Parliamentarians Adopt A Plan Of Action For Ratification Of Rome Statute

Arusha - Kenyan and Tanzanian parliamentarians on Tuesday told journalists

at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda that a ratification of

the Rome Statute by their respective countries could take time.

"Unlike Uganda, Tanzania faces several hurdles: legal, political and in

terms of priorities," said Phillip Marmo, the deputy speaker of the

Tanzanian parliament. He noted that the ratification was not high on the

agenda of the parliament and more important treaties such as the East

Africa Treaty were still waiting ratification.

"There are concerns that the statute will clash with the domestic criminal

law and procedure," Marmo said. "There are also political questions and the

statute is not known to many politicians."

The Kenyan representative to the conference, opposition member of

parliament, James Orengo, said that it was similarly difficult to predict

when Kenya would undertake ratification of the treaty.

"The solicitor general has informed us that they are waiting for the

results of the discussion of the on going process of elaboration of

elements constituting the crimes, and rules of procedure and evidence,"

Orengo said.

Orengo said he was concerned that while Kenya was very good at making

ratification of agreements, it remained poor at implementation.

He noted that Kenya had not developed the legal framework and institutions

necessary to support the ratification of various treaties, including its

cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Orengo

blamed this on the government's reluctance to create mechanisms for

accountability.

"For most authoritarian regimes, the less legislation, the better; the

fewer laws the better," Orengo said.

His parliamentary colleague, Shem Ochuodho, said while this was true not

only of Kenya but several African countries, he believed that this time

there would be a difference.

"One thing I can say is that if the court will be put in place then people

will know, 'there will be no impunity should I commit atrocities'. I

believe this is important, it may deter such people from such acts."

On the question of why industrialized countries and the

United States have not yet signed the statute -- let alone ratified it,

Raynell Andreychuk said that why they have not signed was not the key

issue. Andreychuk is a Canadian senator and convenor of the International

Law and Human

Rights Programme of the Parliamentarians for Global Action.

She noted that it was important for all countries to avoid getting bound in

their own agendas. Andreychuk said that it was important to have an

institution like the criminal court and expressed hope that the majority of

the European countries will ratify it soon.

Speaking on the matter, Orengo noted that the bigger countries, the United

States in particular, have always been behind the rest of the world when it

came to ratifying agreements. In most cases, the United States has often

ended up joining the rest of the world even though belatedly.

"The fact that America is behind the rest of the world when it comes to the

International Criminal Court should not worry us," Orengo said. "At some

point the thinking on the court will be the same worldwide and this will

influence the decision of America," he said.

One of the key concerns hindering ratification by most countries is the

level of authority the court will have. Many fear that the court may

infringe on their country's sovereignty, and some leaders have genuine

fears of prosecution.

However, the parliamentarians explained that these are misperceptions. They

noted that a problem in the lobbying for ratification of the Rome Statute

is the lack of education on what the statute entails. In particular, the

statute is not expected to work in retrospect. In addition, the court is

only expected to operate where the legal and judicial system in a country

have totally collapsed or where the government is unwilling to prosecute

genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes because of the

personalities involved.

The conference ended with the participants from the three East African

countries: Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, drawing up a plan of action aimed

at putting pressure on their respective governments to reach ratification

soon. During the conference, president of the Rwanda Tribunal, Judge

Navanethem Pillay and Registrar Agwu Okali addressed the participants of

the conference.

Ghana and Senegal are the two African countries that have ratified the

statute. In total, 10 countries have done so and 60 are needed for the

court to come into operation.

Mary Kimani Internews International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda Phone from

Africa: 255-57-504207 (up to 11) ext 5235 Phone from U.S.A.:1 (212)

963-2850 ext 5235 Fax: 255-57-504000 Fax: 1 (212) 963-2848/49 or

255-57-504000 Mobile Phone:255-811-512 220

This report was produced in co-operation with the Hirondelle independent

press agency. Internews Arusha Internews Network via our Arcata office Tel:

1 212 9632850 ext 5061 Fax: 1 212 9632848/49

Direct to Arusha Tel: 255-57-504207/8/9/10 ext 5061