Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa (OSISA)

(Read the full article here or download it below) - By Gerge Mukundi, Advocacy Director of the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconcililation - The intense interest and huge hype generated by the search for a successor to Moreno Ocampo as the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) by state parties, powerful non-member states and international justice actors is telling.

As African human rights practitioners gather in Yamoussoukro to mark the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), it is critical that they frankly and honestly discuss the track record of this supranational body in promoting and protecting human rights on the continent.

Despite its many challenges and numerous critics, the significance of the role played by the African Commission in the protection of human rights – particularly through its interpretation and enforcement of the African Charter – cannot be denied.

You can always tell when President Mugabe is really rattled. It's when he launches into a tirade about white, racist, imperialist conspiracies in a desperate attempt to deflect attention away from the facts. It has worked pretty well for him in the past but his latest rant only served to highlight the issue he currently wants to bury - the state-sanctioned torture of opposition supporters and the fact that those responsible might now be brought to book in South Africa.

One of the contentious issues that arises in debates about universal jurisdiction is whether international law allows for what has been called “universal jurisdiction in absentia”. The question is whether a State may initiate criminal proceedings, for international crimes, against persons who are not present within the territory of the prosecuting State.