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The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) held a three-day regional seminar last week in Abidjan on the statute of the International Criminal Court(ICC).
The aim of the conference, attended mainly by senior officials of ECOWAS member states and law specialists, was to inform the regional experts on the role and purpose of the Court, its powers and its methods of operation, ICRC's regional office in Abidjan said in a statement. Participants were also briefed on the measures countries need to take to implement the statute of the Court.
At the end of the conference, three recommendations were adopted, including one calling on those West African countries that have not ratified the court's statute to do so. Countries were also urged to implement measures to facilitate cooperation with the Court once it becomes effective, and to strengthen legislation prohibiting violations of international humanitarian law.
Six of the 15 ECOWAS states - Benin, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone have ratified the statute of the proposed court. Eight others - Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia and Niger - have signed but not yet ratified, ICRC said.
Togo has done neither.
The statute of the ICC was adopted in Rome on 17 July 1998. According to ICRC, 49 countries have so far ratified it. It will come into force two months after its 60th ratification.
The ICC will judge those deemed most responsible for violations of international law including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
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