Africa and the International Criminal Court

Abstract

Since the establishment and functioning of the ICC in 2002, the work of the ICC has generated a lot of debate, criticisms and controversy. This is largely due to the perception that, as far as the prosecution of cases before the ICC is concerned, the establishment seems to have been functioning most actively against human rights atrocities in African states while the situations in other regions of the world receive much less attention. Despite the ongoing debates around this issue, it is quite important to note that the practice and jurisprudence of the ICC have resulted in a number of significant developments in the field of international law generally and international humanitarian law in particular. This article seeks to highlight some of the major contributions that have been made to the development of the relevant fields of law by the ICC, and gives a general overview of the cases before the ICC which emanated from Africa.