The ICC under criticism from the African Union as trial of Kenyan president approaches

In the days leading up to the trial of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, members of the African Union are urging the International Criminal Court to postpone conviction as they argue that a trial would be a breach of African sovereignty.

The current chairman of the AU’s Executive Council, Dr. Tedros, condemned the ICC, saying “the court has transformed itself into a political instrument targeting Africa and Africans. This unfair and unjust treatment is totally unacceptable,” reports BBC News.

Richard Dicker, a member of Human Rights Watch, also asserted that “the leaders of the most powerful countries ... don’t find themselves facing arrest warrants from the ICC. That’s an ugly reality, but ... no excuse to deny justice to victims where it’s possible.”

The US is an example of one such country immune to the the risks of an ICC trial, as it never ratified the 1998 Treaty of Rome. Russia and China also share this privilege with the US.

According to The New York Times, since the establishment of the ICC, the court has prosecuted exclusively African suspects.