Notices by Zecharias Zelalem (zekuzelalem@dair-community.social)

THREAD: By now most of you have heard the news of the ICC's belated issuing of an arrest warrant for Netanyahu. But what are the consequences for countries who refuse to arrest the Israeli Prime Minister? Africans are best placed to provide answers for this hilariously😁

Short answer: nothing.

In 2009, the ICC indicted Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir for crimes against humanity in Darfur. He made numerable visits to Ethiopia for African Union summit meetings, although Ethiopia is not a state party to the Rome Statute.

But he visited numerous other countries who are. Including Djibouti, Uganda, Malawi and yes....South Africa. The same South Africa that is pressing genocide charges against Israel at the ICJ.

https://www.reuters.com/article/economy/sudans-bashir-welcomed-in-ethiopia-despite-warrant-idUSLL945881/

South Africa defended their decision not to arrest Al Bashir in 2015, saying that the ICC's arrest warrant did not override South African law, which secures immunity for sitting heads of state.

https://www.reuters.com/article/world/south-africa-defends-decision-to-ignore-iccs-bashir-arrest-warrant-idUSKBN1791FQ/

Angered by the condemnation that came for its decision, South Africa unilaterally decided to withdraw from the ICC. Eventually though, South Africa's robust court system ruled that the withdrawal was unconstitutional, and the withdrawal itself was withdrawn 😁

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-39204035

In the case of Uganda and Djibouti, both parties to the Rome Statute, the ICC passed an internal ruling judging that both states failed to uphold international law by refusing to arrest Al Bashir when he visited those countries in 2015 and 2016. This document outlines the "ruling" against Djibouti.

What does the ICC do in the case of violators like Djibouti? Refer the case to the United Nations Security Council.

https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/CourtRecords/CR2016_04946.PDF

Malawi was given the same treatment in 2011. The ICC was outraged that Al Bashir essentially had the freedom to roam across the African continent, with virtually no repercussions.

During his 2010 trip to Kenya, a Kenyan court ordered Al Bashir to be arrested. But Kenyan authorities dismissed the court order, citing African Union protocol which granted him immunity from prosecution as a sitting head of state.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-16159709

A year later, Malawi refused to hold an African Union summit meeting, when the AU insisted that Al Bashir be allowed to attend. It appears that in the year since Al Bashir's first visit to Malawi, western donor states issued threats of consequences to Malawi, a poor country that relies on western humanitarian aid to feed a section of its population. So Al Bashir never returned to Malawi, and the AU summit was relocated to Ethiopia.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2012/6/9/malawi-cancels-au-summit-over-sudans-bashir

What does a referral to the United Nations Security Council do for violators? Nothing. The UNSC is supposed to deliberate and issue sanctions for countries that refuse to honour ICC arrest warrants. But this same UNSC has the likes of China with permanent membership and veto powers. China was a longtime ally of Omar Al Bashir, and kept financing him despite condemnation. The UNSC is well and truly handicapped in situations like this.

In Africa, there is a great distrust of the ICC. The consensus among African leaders is that the ICC is a tool weaponized disproportionately against African leaders. On multiple occasions, African Union members have contemplated carrying out a joint mass withdrawal from the body.

The other reason for the loathing of the body: African leaders typically have poor human rights track records. Many know that they are all at risk of indictments, and sticking together makes sense.

Knowing this, in the scenario that the United States flouts international law and permits Netanyahu to visit Washington DC again...the ICC would refer the case to the UNSC, where the US is a permanent member with veto power. Yeah that's going to deter them :)

The only possible real deterrence for the United States is the international reputation stain that would come with being referred to as a state that provided a safe haven for war criminals with international arrest warrants.

So this is the problem. The ICC is best designated for dealing with poorer countries like Malawi, who rely on foreign aid into carrying out arrests. These countries can be coerced or bullied into adhering to international law.

The ICC has no mechanism for dealing with violators among the global powers or their backers. This shows how fundamentally flawed the ICC is from its origin.

https://www.france24.com/en/20120315-lubanga-kony-icc-africans-international-justice-hague-syria-congo

It could be with the accusations of anti African bias in mind, that the ICC appointed Fatou Bensouda, a Gambian national, as lead prosecutor for the body. She stayed in the position from 2012-2021.

But this was merely a symbolic measure.

Among the African masses...there is the perception (accurate to be frank) that the body lacks objectivity and is politically aligned.

African observers of global political affairs are all aware of how the ICC completely sidestepped Iraq and Afghanistan. The swiftness of arrest warrants for Putin, compared to the dillydallying on warrants for Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant...well it's hardly even subtle is it?

Don't get me wrong...the Netanyahu & Gallant ICC indictments are an important first measure in acknowledging the calculated mass slaughter of Palestinians, now determined by the UN to be consistent with genocide.

But expectations ought to be realistic. The ICC wields about as much power as a uniformed school crossing guard.

In the end, the threat of "the greatest country in the world," going down in history as a violator of international law might be what justice seekers have to rely on.

-ZZ.

The plaintiffs are Salah Al-Ejaili, a former Al Jazeera journalist, Suhail Al Shimari, a school principal and Asa’ad Al-Zubae, a fruit vendor. Despite having no links to armed groups, all three were severely tortured. They were not among those seen in horrific images of Abu Ghraib torture that surfaced in 2004. But they endured many of the same experiences, including beatings, sexual abuse, being attacked by dogs and more.

Justice delayed, but not denied.

A US Federal court has ordered US Defence contractor CACI to pay $42M to 3 Iraqi civilians who endured horrific torture at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison in 2003. Today's decision comes 15 years after the lawsuit was first filed, and years of attempts by CACI to get the lawsuit dismissed.

CACI employees served as interrogators at Abu Ghraib and assisted US military personnel by helping "soften up" detainees for brutal interrogations.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/11/12/abu-ghraib-torture-survivors-win-us-civil-case-42-million-dollars-damages

The other day, Ethiopian born influencer, former Miss Israel and former IDF soldier Titi Aynaw visited Ethiopia's Embassy to Israel, to discuss promoting Ethiopian government tourism initiatives.

Titi was born in Amhara (ancestral land of most Ethiopian Jews).

Busy appearing in pro Israeli gov campaign videos & defending IDF operations in Gaza, Titi seems to be completely unaware that her birth region is being devastated by drone strikes ordered by the man in the framed photo behind her.

THREAD: Hello friends. Work has me running everywhere and extremely busy, sorry for not updating more often.

I'm still busy, but I come here to drop a few lengthy MUST READ reports for people who want an understanding of affairs in East Africa.

C.W: content primarily centered around genocide.

Well, since Nelson Mandela is trending these days...from the archives: Mandela's Ethiopian passport. In 1962, Mandela toured Africa in search of support for the anti apartheid armed wing of the African National Congress.

In Ethiopia, he completed 2 months of a course in guerrilla fighting & military leadership.

Granted Ethiopian citizenship under his bogus identity as "David Motsamayi," Mandela masqueraded as a journalist. His fake profession is indicated on his passport in Amharic (ጋዜጠኛ).

Here's Mandela in Ethiopia (right) in 1962. Standing with him is Ethiopian army General Tadesse Birru, a veteran of the Ethiopian resistance wars during the Italian colonial army's 1935 invasion and subsequent occupation of Ethiopia ordered by fascist leader Benito Mussolini.

General Tadesse Birru oversaw the entirety Mandela's military training.