Governments get serious about international court

Regional governments, parliamentarians and civil society organisations released plans of action in Windhoek, Namibia on Wednesday, to ensure the prompt establishment of a fair, effective and independent International Criminal Court (ICC), according to a press release. The plans were one of the outcomes of a three-day conference reviewing regional progress on ratifying a treaty that would bring the court into existence. In their action plans, government and parliamentary representatives in attendance recommended that the secretary of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) urge all member states to ratify the treaty and give priority to the drafting of implementing legislation. The press release said that the ICC would, once it was created, be able to prosecute individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Sixty nations must ratify the ICC treaty before it can become a reality: so far, 32 nations have done so. Among them are Lesotho, Botswana and South Africa. Another 10 SADC nations have signed the ICC treaty, the first step on the road to ratification, and all have committed to ratifying the treaty and implementing its obligations as quickly as possible.