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abujagirl
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The African Union (AU) has expressed worry over the double standards exhibited by the ICC with regards to requests for deferral of prosecution of some cases.
Addressing Heads of State and Governments at the 15th Extraordinary Assembly of AU on Saturday in Addis Ababa, AU Chairperson, Hailemariam Dessalegn, said, "While similar requests by other entities were positively received even under very controversial circumstances, neither the ICC nor the UN Security Council have heeded the repeated requests that we have made on a number of cases relating to Africa over the last seven years".
"It is unfortunate that the court continue to operate in complete disregard for the concerns that we have expressed, which make the trend worrisome and unfair with the kind of treatment we have been subjected to by the ICC".
Available data on the ICC cases in Africa show that the court's Pre-Trial Chambers have 32 Africans, while it had issued arrest warrants for 23 individuals and summons to nine others, including the Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir.
"Past experience in our continent and elsewhere amply demonstrate the need to balance justice and reconciliation in the complex conflict situation".
"It is in light of this fact that we have been insisting on the importance of finding home-grown solution to some of the intractable conflicts in our continent",he added.
Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan is among the more than 35 Heads of State and Governments attending the one-day summit.
The session had entered into close door to deliberate and resolve on unified stand on the relationship between the AU and the ICC. (NAN)
