As African States Flee International Criminal Court, ICC Plots Response at UN

On October 27, 2016, Kimberly Prost, Chef de Cabinet of the President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), briefed UN member states and civil society on ongoing developments at the ICC prior to the President's presentation of the annual report of the ICC to the General Assembly on October 31, 2016. The ICC has been rocked in October by successive announcements of intent to withdraw from the Court by Burundi, South Africa, and Gambia.

At the meeting, Prost asserted that the ICC was not a "political" institution and therefore would not respond "politically" to the withdrawals, but would instead issue a statement emphasizing the court's mandate and the court's "progress" in pursuing justice.

Prost noted that prior to its announcement of intent to withdraw, South Africa had initiated discussions to clarify or amend the process by which the ICC and member states consult after the ICC requests the arrest or surrender of a person on the territory of a member state (Article 97 of the Rome Statute). (South Africa notably refused to turnover Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir to the ICC when Bashir visited South Africa in June 2015, despite two ICC arrest warrants against him for genocide and war crimes.) Prost asserted that despite South Africa's intent to withdraw from the Court, conversations regarding changes to the consultation process would continue.

Member states in attendance at the meeting, including Argentina, Italy, Liechtenstein, and the Netherlands, asserted that they would issue statements in support of the ICC, and encouraged high-level political leaders to attend the Assembly of State Parties of the ICC scheduled on November 16-24, 2016, to indicate their support for the Court in light of the recent withdrawals.