The Executive Director of Africa Legal Aid (AFLA), Mrs Evelyn A. Ankumah, has urged the international community to enhance the legitimacy of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Africa. She said although the ICC is a universal court - which embodies the universal conviction that perpetrators of crimes offending humanity ought to be held accountable before competent courts - Africa’s political leaders, under the auspices of the African Union (AU), have not hesitated to be hostile to the ICC and its Prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo. Mrs Ankumah was addressing the European Parliament on: “EU Support for the ICC on issues that are real and practical significance for Africa,” in Brussels. According to her, the AU had accused the ICC of selective justice that targeted Africans and had therefore condemned the arrest warrants against Presidents Al Bashir of Sudan and Muammar Ghadaffi of Libya as well as openly declaring that they will not assist the ICC in transferring the two rulers to The Hague. “When State Parties, and in this case some 30 African States, refuse to live up to their obligations under the Rome Statute the efficacy and decisiveness of the ICC are undermined. “One of the challenges for the international community and for the European Union is how to persuade, urge, and require African States and their political leaders to do what they are supposed to do…,” she maintained. Mrs Ankumah said the AU’s stance against the ICC does not imply that Africa as a whole opposes the Court. “Formally, the African Union spoke with one voice, but beneath the surface there were other views among the leaders. In fact, some of the cases before the Court were referred by African States who saw the ICC as a body that can help Africa to strive at criminal justice. “The open critique on the ICC by Africa only commenced when the United Nations Security Council referred Sudan and later Libya - two countries which are not State Parties to the Rome Statute - to the Court, and when arrest warrants were issued against sitting Heads of State in those two countries. “The views expressed by the AU Heads of State do not reflect the views of all ordinary Africans. There are numerous Africans who support the ICC and see the Court as external assistance in their own internal conflicts and struggle against suppressive regimes. As so often in politics, the voices of the critics are louder than those of the supporters,” she said. Source: GNA