Catherine Sasman
15 July 2011
TIME will come when Namibia will have to reconsider its position on the International Criminal Court (ICC), commented Prime Minister Nahas Angula on Wednesday.
“The ICC is being abused; it’s becoming a political tool,” said Angula.
Namrights has claimed that the Namibian delegation – which included Angula and Minister of Foreign Affairs Utoni Nujoma – to the 17th ordinary session of the African Union (AU) in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea towards the end of June has “strongly advised” other African countries to withdraw altogether from the ICC.
Angula denied this, but said Namibia would support such a position.
AU Member States have decided not to cooperate with the ICC in trying to carry out its warrant of arrest for embattled Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir.
The AU held that the arrest warrant seriously complicates the efforts aimed at finding a negotiated political solution to the Libyan crisis.
Namibia is party to the Rome Statute since 2002, and has thus committed itself to cooperate with the ICC to combat impunity worldwide.
Minister of Presidential Affairs Albert Kawana in Parliament this week said the AU position is that the ICC is selectively targeting only Africans.
“This is unacceptable; the ICC is insulting Africans,” Kawana said during a discussion on a motion on the north African uprisings seeking a Namibian position.
He suggested that the AU establish a mechanism to try those accused of perpetrating human rights abuses.
Swanu MP Usutuaije Maamberua said African countries are not united in their positions on Libya: some are siding with the rebels and others with Gaddafi.
Notwithstanding, he ascribed the north African uprisings to abject material and social conditions, as well as a lack of accountability by leaders.
He said Namibia should draw lessons from the uprisings, arguing that pervasive poverty and unemployment are humiliating experiences, similar to that experienced by northern Africans.
Another lesson, he proposed, is that resource-rich African countries – particularly where oil is present – should brace themselves against foreign divisive forces and fight internal graft.
Namibia, he suggested, has another four to five years – before oil could be found here – to strengthen its institutions to turn such a find into a blessing, and not a curse as is the case in many oil-rich African states.
Deputy Minister of Education Dr David Namwandi was of the opinion that the Libyan people – and the African community – should be allowed to resolve the conflict amongst themselves, saying that he has a serious problem with the way the international community is dealing with the issue.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Peya Mushelenga said the no-fly zone declared under the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 was ostensibly enforced to protect civilian life, but Nato forces instead are killing civilians.
He also questioned if the intention of the resolution was to assassinate a head of State.
“It appears that the target is to eliminate Gaddafi,” he concluded, adding that the rebels have lost their initial aim of democracy.
“We must call to order those who are in violation of the letter and spirit of the resolution,” said Mushelenga, bemoaning the fact that the international community is ignoring the efforts of the AU to bring about peace in Libya.
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