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U.S. Diplomat Under Fire for Criticising Burundi for Exiting the ICC

Posted byBy Lena D | Published on: | Updated on October 31, 2016 CommentsComments (0)

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Burundians have been responding to the United States  envoy to the United Nations, for accusing their government of ‘attachment to impunity.’

Burundi’s Permanent Representative to the U.N., Albert Shingiro, had tweeted a picture of the foreign affairs minister presenting the country’s exit resolution from the International Criminal Court (ICC) to the Chief of staff of the UN secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., responded to the tweet saying, ‘‘Burundian government makes official its deep attachment to impunity.”

Afterwards, the Burundian envoy hit back asking Power whether other countries that were not party to the ICC statutes could also be accused of promoting impunity. Several other people joined to lambaste the U.N. diplomat.

Burundi said on Wednesday that it had officially notified the U.N. of its decision to quit the ICC. They are the second African country behind South Africa to present their withdrawal notice to the U.N.

Gambia also hinted of plans to leave the Hague-based court, accusing it of being biased against Africans. Incidentally the current chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, was a former justice minister of the Gambia.

Read more here.

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