Members of the African Union accused the International Criminal Court of racism on Monday, characterizing the high number of Africans who are indicted — 99 percent of the ICC cases — as proof that justice is not being served.
Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn slung the accusation after the ICC charged Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta of crimes against humanity. Mr. Kenyatta faces a July trial, which stems from accusations that he fueled national violence from highly contested elections in 2007, BBC said. Mr. Kenyatta denies all charges.
And the AU, meanwhile, said he’s only being charged because of racism in the ICC. AU members say they’ll bring their concerns to the United Nations for investigation, Mr. Desalegn said, in BBC.
Mr. Desalegn questioned why “99 percent [of ICC indictments] are Africans,” BBC reported.
“This shows something is flawed within the system of the ICC,” he said, in BBC. The international court was supposed to bring an end to unfair trials that included different nations, he said, in the BBC report, “but now the process has degenerated into some king of race hunting.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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