(JollofNews) – The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, has said that the Hague-based court is monitoring the ongoing political crisis in the Gambia.
The Gambian born jurist has been criticised by some Gambians in the diaspora for turning a blind eye to the Gambian regime’s heavy-handed crackdown on members of the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) and the reported death in custody of Solo Sandeng, national organising secretary on 14 April.
But speaking for the first time since the protest began, Mrs Bensouda reminded Gambians that while her court has territorial jurisdiction in the Gambia and is monitoring the situation in the West African state, it does not interfere in political affairs of any country.
“What we at the ICC look for is war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide which is the mandate of the institution and this is what has to be understood,” Mrs Bensouda said in an interview with Sheriff Bojang Jr of the Dakar-based West Africa Democracy Radio (WADR).
She explained that: “These crimes have their specific elements and we look at them very closely to see whether those elements are present. It has to be clear that the ICC is not a human rights court but a court that deals with specific crimes under the Rome statue.
“The court also does not interfere in the political affairs of any country. You have never heard me as prosecutor made any statement regarding the political situation of any country. We always address the fact that crimes have been committed or are about to be committed and this is due to the assessment that we make to collect information and assess them to see that ICC crimes are likely to be committed.
“For example, in Nigeria we collected information and had evidences that crimes were likely to happen that is why I made a statement. And in this case you also have to look into the gravity of the crimes that has been committed or that are likely to be committed so we look into that threshold.”
The former Gambian attorney general and Justice minister added that while she is a Gambian, she is not sitting on the prosecutor’s seat as a Gambian but as prosecutor of the ICC with specific mandate.
She stated: ” As prosecutor, I should not treat any state or country differently and because I am a Gambian I should not regard myself as a Gambian. I am a prosecutor and this is why am sitting here.
“Those that reacted to President Jammeh’s threat of burying his critics ‘nine feet deep’ did so based on human rights, my mandate is crime and if these crimes have been committed it would have been different. We are assessing what is going on in the Gambia but it is not yet the time for the prosecutor of the ICC to make a statement.
“I don’t feel embarrassed as I know all these criticisms are due to a lack of knowledge of what I do as a prosecutor of the ICC and how the Court functions in accordance with its legal mandate.”
Hallo Bensouda,
What Dictator jammeh is doin is Crime against Humanity.People right hav been violated, Innocent people have being killed for no geneuin Reason.
When jammeh is overthrow we will bring him to ICC.As u said you Monitoring the Situation, Monitor so well
Am disappointed on fatou’s comment.it is just unfortunate for her to be in that post.
Enough of your lame excuses Mrs Bensouda. Tell me if Yaya Jammeh’s crimes did not fit in the category below. Your interview is full of contradictions. We might not be educated like you but we are no fools.
Crimes against humanity are certain acts that are deliberately committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population or an identifiable part of a population. The first prosecution for crimes against humanity took place at the Nuremberg Trials. Crimes against humanity have since been prosecuted by other international courts – such as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Court, as well as in domestic prosecutions. The law of crimes against humanity has primarily developed through the evolution of customary international law. Crimes against humanity are not codified in an international convention, although there is currently an international effort to establish such a treaty, led by the Crimes Against Humanity Initiative.
Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during peace or war.[1] They are not isolated or sporadic events, but are part either of a government policy (although the perpetrators need not identify themselves with this policy) or of a wide practice of atrocities tolerated or condoned by a government or a de facto authority. Murder, massacres, dehumanization, extermination, human experimentation, extrajudicial punishments, death squads, forced disappearances, military use of children, kidnappings, unjust imprisonment, slavery, cannibalism, torture, rape, and political or racial repression may reach the threshold of crimes against humanity if they are part of a widespread or systematic practice.
Her office belongs to Alh.cherno Assan Jallow , He could have dealt with the situation Gambia differently than Mrs Bensouda I believed .she have to take exile after her terms over
i think you people are the once,s to be taken there cos what is happen in the gambia is not political issue but triabalism that is cosing all this problem in the gambia cos the udp think that they own this contry the gambia in there dreams
Ansumana I agreed with you UDP is a tribalist party and praying for the destabilising the entire Gambian communities which will never happen insha allah
are you serious ansumana?
Am with Mrs Bensoda, assess, evaluate, get the facts and implement it. I know we are frustrated to the ongoing threat, malactions of Jammeh to our fellow citizens. These ICC laws takes time before they speaks out the investigators must come with their reports first and just because she is Gambian does not give her the will and power to over site the system. So long Jammeh is in power u can’t get him into court right now the focus is let him go then be prosecuted.
Soul, you are talking rubbish.
Mrs Bensoda does not her role as head of icc.
soul you know what to say about the Gambia.
you are seeing and hearing and you are trying to talk rubbish about Mrs Bensoda.
She doesn’t know what she is doing.
The whole world is seeing and hearing what is happening in the Gambia
let us not be self centred people.
ICC is taking a case against certain individuals,their cases are not different from what the government in the Gambia is doing
Omar basia of Sudan is not different from what jam-meh is doing in the Gambia.
The truth is that we Gambians are not ready as you call it Arab spring.
Let the Gambians come out in numbers against this government.
Once a puppet ever a puppet
Bensouda, Jammeh and ICC are all garbages to the core, yes i said garbages and bunch and bunches of self centered people and the socalled ICC as a credible institution, am flattered to be honest….am out of this madness
Those looking at a particular political party and linking it to a tribe are definately surfering from deficiency in political knowledge and wisdom.
Read the ICC intervention areas; as to when, where, and how the institution should intervain. It is an International Institution for Justice but that didn’t give it the right to snoop into the sovereignty of any nation. It might take time but Jammeh would face justice. Patience is a virtue.