At UN General Assembly, Kenya Hints at Possible Withdrawal from the International Criminal Court

On October 31, 2016, the UN General Assembly met to consider the annual report of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to the UN General Assembly. The meeting occurred in the wake of successive announcements in October of intent to withdraw from the Court by Burundi, South Africa, and Gambia.

At the meeting, Kenya criticized the ICC for unfairly focusing on African countries, and hinted that it is also considering withdrawal from the Court. In its words:

"[W]e continue to express our deep regret that in a world that has been consumed by violent devastating wars and violent clashes, and where hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people are adversely affected; this dismal output of tangible results is disheartening and simply confounding. Clearly something is deeply wrong at the ICC... [I]t is clear that this Court only continues to enjoy membership and support from a small segment of countries in the world. We take note, with very keen interest, of the recent developments within the membership and shall continue to actively monitor these unfolding events...

We are convinced that the African Union continues to be largely ignored by the ICC... [W]e can only conclude that the ICC is not ready to engage constructively with the African Union... Kenya's continued acceptance of the status quo will only undermine the legitimacy of the Court and its core mandate, the fight against impunity."