Cape Town — African states that are party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court should reaffirm their commitment to the principles of justice and accountability, the International Center for Transitional Justice said today in advance of representatives of those 30 African nations meeting in Addis Ababa.

"This is the opportunity for African states to highlight their willingness to seek justice for victims of mass atrocities," said Suliman Baldo, director of ICTJ's Africa program. "We believe support for the Rome Statute and the ICC advances international justice, which is in the interest of all Africans."

The June 8-9 meeting in Addis Ababa takes place three months after the ICC issued an arrest warrant against President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes. The meeting, which is also open to member states of the African Union who have not signed the Rome Statute, is expected to focus on Africa's response to the ICC's role on the continent.

There is concern that some participating countries might use the meeting as a platform to call for the withdrawal of African states from the Rome Statute. The ICC, however, is intended as a court of last resort, to be used only if national efforts to seek accountability and combat impunity fail.

Since the 1990s, Africa has been at the forefront of efforts to hold to account perpetrators of massive major human abuses. Beginning with the establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Rwanda's own domestic prosecutions for genocide perpetrators and the decisive rallying by African states that enabled the creation of the ICC, Africa has championed the cause of accountability.

ICTJ calls upon all African states to reaffirm their commitment to the principle of addressing impunity through national, regional and international legal instruments. We also call on nations that have not yet joined the Rome Statute to do so.

About ICTJ

The International Center for Transitional Justice assists countries pursuing accountability for past mass atrocity or human rights abuse. ICTJ works in societies emerging from repressive rule or armed conflict, as well as in established democracies where historical injustices or systemic abuse remain unresolved.