Attorney General Athaliah Molokomme will resign her post to contest the presidency of the International Criminal Court Assembly of State Parties. Molokomme is strongly tipped to be the first African President of the ICC Assembly of State Parties after Prince Zeid Bin Ra’ad of Jordan, Bruno Stagno Ugarte of Costa Rica, Christian Wenoweser of Liechtenstein and current president Tiina Intelmann of Estonia. Molokomme comes across as a unifying figure between the radical African block that harbor strong anti ICC sentiments on the Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta trial and the rest of the pro ICC state parties.
The outgoing Attorney General will be counting on the support of most of the 122 state parties including the African block following a compromise that saw Botswana climb down from its earlier position on the trial of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. Botswana, which was the only African country to have denounced an African Union resolution to have the trial of Kenyatta deferred by the International Criminal Court, made a stunning U-turn October last year, saying there were legitimate reasons to suspend the trial.
Minister of foreign affairs, Phandu Skelemani said the time lag would allow President Kenyatta to focus on the threat of terrorism by al-Shabaab in the east African country. Botswana had earlier opposed the resolution saying the AU was politicising “a legal matter”. President Kenyatta visited Botswana on November 6 last year, two weeks before the ICC General Assembly of State Parties.
The meeting between Khama and Kenyatta is believed to have discussed Kenyatta’s trial and Molokomme’s candidacy of the president of ICC Assembly of State Parties. Fifteen days after the meeting between Kenyatta and Khama, Molokomme announced to the Assembly of State Parties that Botswana would be contesting the ICC Presidency, stating that, “we naturally count on the confidence and invaluable support of States Parties towards this candidature.” African countries account for 34 of the 122 State Parties that have ratified the ICC convention.
Taking the compromise route between African countries that feel ICC is picking on Africa and other state parties that supported the ICC, Molokomme in her statement to the Assembly of State Parties said, “states parties should be mindful of the fact that the Rome Statute is our own creation. Therefore, any imperfections in this instrument can only be addressed by none other than ourselves. It is in this spirit that Botswana has been working closely with like-minded States Parties delegations in initiating amendments to the Court’s Rules of Procedure and Evidence in order to address the question of presence of an accused person at a trial.
Through the proposed Amendments, we hope that greater flexibility can be applied in the interpretation and application of Article 63. We have been very encouraged by the positive spirit which delegations have exhibited in this effort. We trust that States Parties will hold fruitful deliberations and reach consensus on the proposed Amendments during this Session of the Assembly.”
Molokomme further argued that, “the Court constantly needs to strike a balance between judicial and political imperatives of a given situation with which it is confronted.” Molokomme was echoing the popular sentiment among African governments. Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania had recently written to the ICC asking the international court to strike a balance between its jurisdiction and the responsibilities of those who occupy high office.
The three are among five African countries which include Uganda and Eritrea that have written to the ICC to exempt Kenya’s deputy president William Ruto from attending all hearings of his case in The Hague. In an interview with the Sunday Standard this week, Molokomme said she was aware that there are other African countries, notably Senegal that have also shown interest in this highly prestigious position. “I have the support of my country. If I do get the job, for me it will be a great honour,” she said.
She said she was approached by a network of ICC colleagues with whom she has worked over the years.
It is a three year tenure at the end of which the Presidency will rotate to other areas, said Molokomme.
“When preparations for filling the ASP Presidency vacancy were coming up last year, it was generally understood that it is Africa’s turn to take up the presidency, the Botswana Government expressed its interest to contest. Many of my colleagues in the network were of the view that I was eminently suitable, and suggested that I avail myself, but then one doesn’t nominate oneself, your government does. Towards the end of the year, the Botswana Government then approached me to find out whether I would be interested in my name being forwarded as a candidate for the ASP Presidency; I am not sure whether anyone lobbied the Botswana government on this matter,” she said. She says upon reflection she thought she would be interested.
“In October 2015, I will have been AG for ten years, and I believe that this is a good time to start thinking about my next exciting challenge!”
She added that she has been involved in the work of the ICC for some years now, especially since 2009, through participation in the annual meeting of the Assembly of States Parties to the ICC as a senior member and often leader of the Botswana delegation;
“In my professional capacity, I have become very active in the network of professionals who
At its annual sessions, the Assembly considers a number of issues, including the budget of the Court, the status of contributions and the audit reports, as well as a number of current issues, such as the permanent premises of the Court.
In addition, the Assembly considers the reports on the activities of the Bureau, the Court and the Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for Victims. The Assembly is further tasked with the election of, inter alia, the judges, the Prosecutor and Deputy Prosecutors. Before taking up their respective duties, the elected officials make a solemn undertaking, administered by the President or Vice-President of the Assembly, to exercise their respective functions impartially and conscientiously. The Assembly may also decide, by secret ballot, on the removal from office of a judge, the Prosecutor or Deputy Prosecutors.
