MEMBERSHIP TO ICC IS NOW A DANGER TO AFRICA: IT’ TIME FOR ZAMBIA AND OTHERS TO WITHDRAW FORTHWITH
IN 2002, the U.S. Congress passed the American Service-Members’ Protection Act (ASPA), which contained a number of provisions, including authorisation of the President to “use all means necessary and appropriate to bring about the release of any U.S. or allied personnel being detained by, on behalf of, or at the request of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and also prohibitions on the United States providing military aid to countries which had ratified the treaty establishing the court.
However, there were a number of exceptions to this, including NATO members, major non-NATO allies, and countries which entered into an agreement with the United States not to hand over U.S. nationals to the court, as well as rendering any military aid that the U.S. president certified to be in the U.S. national interest.
In addition, ASPA contained provisions prohibiting U.S. co-operation with the court, and permitting the President to authorise military force to free any U.S. military personnel held by the court, leading opponents to dub it “The Hague Invasion Act.”
The act was later modified to permit U.S. cooperation with the ICC when dealing with U.S. enemies. The act is a measure created to protect Americans from ICC jurisdiction or prosecution, but at the same time authorise the U.S. to use it to punish other nationals, especially those from countries it perceives as enemies, or its sworn enemies like Russia, China, North Korea, and others.
Meanwhile, three days ago, Russia decreed that should any country use the ICC orders to arrest any Russian national, or indeed hand over any Russian national to ICC, or indeed rendering any aid to enforce ICC orders, then Russia will respond militarily “within eight minutes” of such action. This means, Russia will respond aggressively using Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (IBM) to destroy that country. This includes use of nuclear deterrents.
At this point in time, the world’s two largest super power enemies are on the verge of a catastrophic war, which could go nuclear since
Russia has already put its nuclear arsenal on red alert. Therefore, there is no value whatsoever for Africa to continue belonging to the ICC.
I say so because the U.S., its NATO members, major non-NATO allies, and countries with which it entered into agreements, such as AFRICOM and others, now want to use the ICC as the theatre for fighting the Russia-Ukraine war.
And unfortunately, NATO members and their major non-NATO allies, are targeting to front African countries that are members of ICC, as the theatre for fighting Russia. This may result in a testing of their nuclear weapons.
Sadly too, Tony Blair, the former British Prime Minister who was one of the leading architects of ICC Rome Statutes, is now trotting from one capital city in Africa to another setting up the socalled Presidential Delivery Units, thereby intrenching the so-called Tony Blair Initiatives, including the ICC Statutes.
Mind you, Blair was one of the architects of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and used that opportunity to ensure the ICC Rome Statutes insulated him and his friend George Bush Jnr, never to be arraigned before the ICC to answer charges of war crimes committed there.
We know the lies he purveyed as Prime Minister to start the war in Iraq, and therefore is not trustworthy.
Looking at the game of chess being played by the U.S and its allies, it is imperative that Zambia and other African countries pull out of ICC now. Otherwise our continent is headed for a catastrophic theatre sooner rather than later.