Godfred Yeboah Dame
THE ATTORNEY-General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to consider suggestions from member states for reforms if it genuinely desires to become effective.
Speaking recently at an international conference of Ministers of Justice as well as Ministers of Foreign Affairs in West Africa, prosecutors of the ICC, ambassadors and members of the diplomatic corps in Africa and also African lawyers in Dakar, Senegal, he opined, “We must pay due regard to the concerns of African countries bordering on the need for some reforms in the operations of the ICC.”
According to him, such reforms essentially relate to the perception that the ICC was set up with the prime purpose of prosecuting only African leaders.
“The ICC is yet to effectively dispel the notion that its work is based solely on the consideration that the most serious crimes of concern to the entire international community must not go unpunished, and that prosecution is not based on other considerations or motives.
“It is also important in this regard, for powerful nations of the world to become members of the ICC, so as to banish the perception that the court was set up to victimise Africans,” he intimated.
The conference, which was from May 23-25, this year, was to celebrate 20 years of the establishment of the ICC, an inter-state criminal justice system to investigate, prosecute and try perpetrators of mass crimes of concern to the international community.
Ghana
The Attorney General (AG) said Ghana was the sixth country to sign the Rome Statute and one of the first countries to ratify the treaty.
“It is imperative to indicate that Ghana has been steadfast in upholding the tenets of the Rome Statute,” he stated.
He added that Ghana was not one of the nations of the African Union which voted to pass a non-binding resolution in Addis Ababa in January 2017, for a mass withdrawal from the ICC.
Still on Ghana, he said the country is governed on the basis of respect for human rights and has no difficulty in supporting the work of the ICC, adding that the nation’s recognition and support for the work of the ICC are part of its cherished tradition and culture in the promotion and protection of international human rights and international courts, set up with the object of consolidating such values.
Mr. Dame commended the organisers for bringing Justice Ministers in the West African region and other actors involved in matters affecting the rule of law and good governance in West Africa together.
“As Justice Ministers, our work directly affects the systems of government we undertake in our respective countries as well as the peace, prosperity and security of our nations and by extension, the whole West African regions. There is thus the need for an enhanced role of Justice Ministers in West Africa,” he pointed out.
Forum For Justice Ministers
He continued that there was a movement for the establishment of a forum of Justice Ministers for West Africa, and entreated all of the participants to fully throw their weight behind that endeavour so that the forum is fully endorsed by “our respective heads of state at the upcoming summit in July this year.”
BY Ernest Kofi Adu