Rwanda slammed the “wagging finger” of the West, as it blocked a United Nations Security Council statement from mentioning the International Criminal Court, at a council meeting on preventing conflict in Africa.
Rwanda's Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo, told the council,
"Rather than delivering justice and preventing impunity, the practice is that the International Criminal Court has shown itself subject to political manipulation,"
The Minister went on to say the court was “skewed”, saying,
"We believe that the time for Africa to be subjected to a wagging finger, a punishing finger from the West is over... We think that it is time for Africa and its partners in the north to really have a serious discussion about international justice".
Rwanda organised the meeting, whilst heading the presidency of the council for April 2013. The final statement from the council agreed upon the need to "prosecute persons responsible for war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity or other serious violations of international humanitarian law".
However, other members did mention the ICC in their individual statements, with France’s UN ambassador Gerard Araud saying, "We regret the absence of a reference to the ICC," and Britain’s Mark Lyall Grant adding “"The International Criminal Court and other regional tribunals are vital to ending impunity".
See the report from AFP here.
