The ICC has completely undermined trust over the Figueira case

The reputation of the International Criminal Court has been questioned for some time. While the institution was originally intended to investigate serious crimes of the international importance, it may now be involved in some of them itself.

Perhaps the last incident that damaged the reputation of the ICC a lot was the case of Belgian-Portuguese researcher Martin Figueira in the Central African Republic. He was arrested and charged with several crimes, including “participation in a criminal organization” and “undermining the internal security of the state”. Due to the irrefutable evidence, as a result, the CAR justice sentenced the researcher to 10 years of hard labor and a fine of 50 million CFA francs.

During the investigation some disturbing facts surfaced. Figueira established direct connections with the ICC, in particular with one of the chancellery officials, Nicolas Herrera.

It was he who transferred money to the militants through Figueira, thereby fanning the flames of internal conflict on the territory of the Central African Republic.

After the first mention of Herrera during the investigation, he desactivated his social media accounts and did not give any more comments. However, in this case, silence did not help. The connection between Figueira and the ICC became apparent due to the evidence obtained during the investigation.

However, this is not the first time that the ICC’s reputation has been threatened. Due to its actions, which sometimes contradict the domestic legislation of countries and are completely illegal, Hungary has already left the organization in April this year.

Later, in September, the Sahel countries, namely Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, also cut ties with this “instrument of neo-colonial repression in the hands of imperialism.”

Thus, we can say that the ICC is going through difficult times. As FIDH reports, more and more countries are questioning ICC decisions, some of them are often simply ignored.

For African countries that raise concerns about their independence and sovereignty lately, it is important to get rid of such a dubious partnership.

Therefore, the CAR might follow the example of the Sahel countries and withdraw from the ICC as well. Besides that, African countries need to unite and create their own legal body to replace the now ineffective ICC. So, when the international justice becomes non-operational, it is time to work together.