INTRODUCTION

With the Prosecutor's announcement in January 2013 of the formal opening of another investigation on the African continent, into alleged crimes on the territory of Mali, the theme of this paper ‘Ten Years of International Criminal Court Practice – Trials, Achievements and Tribulations. Is the ICC Today what Africa Expects or Wants?’ is extremely timely.

Let me start first by framing the discussion by what I consider Africa expects or wants from the ICC and then take stock of ICC court practice over the past ten years. In order to do this it is pertinent to recall Africa's significant contribution in the run up to the adoption of the Rome Statute in 1998.

At the time of the adoption of the Rome Statute African nations and civil society had played a vital role in shaping the Rome Statute; Ministers of Justice and Attorneys-General of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) helped to facilitate a continent wide discussion on the creation of the Court through their development of a set of principles that subsequently formed the basis of negotiations at Rome. These principles articulated the vision of a court with an independent prosecutor unfettered by UN Security Council control with inherent jurisdiction over the core international crimes of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. These broad principles were also reflected in the Dakar Declaration, which was noted by the Council of Ministers of the Organisation of African Unity in February 1998 (now AU). The Council of Ministers subsequently called on all OAU members to support the creation of the ICC, which was later adopted by OAU Heads of State in June 1998. It is also worth noting that Article 4 of the African Union's Constitutive Act underscores that the Union functions on principles of respect for human rights, the rule of law and a rejection of impunity.

Against this background the important role that Africa played on the run up to the adoption of the Rome Statute cannot be overstated. The expectations of Africa and the other member states were set by the framework of the Rome Statute, which represented a landmark development in international criminal law.