Guinea-Bissau, the next member of the International Criminal Court – Agence Afrique

On a visit to Guinea-Bissau, the head of the International Criminal Court revealed on Tuesday that he had proposed to the country, which has witnessed a series of coups, join this multilateral court, in order to promote “peace and security” in this small and unstable West African country.

“I came to Guinea-Bissau to ask the country to join the Rome Statute, which is the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court,” Piotr Hofmansky told reporters after meeting President Umaro Sissoko Embalo in Bissau.

“By joining the ICC system, the country will demonstrate its commitment to the rule of law, peace and security,” the judge added, adding that President Embalo promised him to consider this request and inform him of his answer quickly.

With a population of about two million, Guinea-Bissau is a small country that has undergone coups since its independence from Portugal in 1974. Besides Togo, it is the only two countries in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) that have not undergone coups. To be members of the International Criminal Court.

Thus, on February 1, Bissau was the scene of what President Embalo presented as a “new failed coup attempt”.

Established by the international treaty known as the Rome Statute adopted in 1998, the International Criminal Court, headquartered in The Hague, was established in 2002. It is competent to try persons accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide or crimes of aggression in the event of Legal systems fail as these people are usually prosecuted.