Mr Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), will present a keynote address at the Africa Legal Aid's (AFLA) South-North Dialogue on the arrest warrant for Sudanese President, Omar Al-Bashir.
The meeting slated for 26 April in The Hague, on the theme: "A Policy Agenda for International Justice,"
will explore the South/North dimensions of the emerging regime of international criminal justice, and discuss the views of both proponents and opponents of the actions of the ICC.
A statement released by AFLA office in Accra on Tuesday said civil society groups and legal fraternities across the globe would express their
views and discuss cutting edge issues on International Justice.
The meeting would start with "A Policy Agenda for International Justice," while Mrs Evelyn A. Ankumah, Executive Director of AFLA would introduce the theme.
The statement said while many African States have been key contributors to the establishment of the ICC, recent developments in Africa demonstrated a growing resistance to the court and more generally, international criminal justice.
It said at an African Union (AU) Summit held in Sirte, Libya, the AU Assembly issued a Joint Declaration stating that Member States would ignore the ICC arrest warrant for Al-Bashir, and would not take any measures to
transfer him to The Hague.
The then AU Chairman Muamar Gadaffi said the ICC represented 'new world terrorism' and attempted to have all African State parties to the Rome statute withdraw from the court.
The attempt failed, but his stance against the ICC was shared by many African countries and leaders. Only Benin and Botswana, kept their backs straight and openly dissented.
"Resistance against, and debates on, the South-North dimensions of the emerging regime of international criminal justice is not limited to the ICC.
Quite controversial too is the exercise of universal jurisdiction by foreign national courts," the statement said.
The dialogue will stimulate discussion on unsettling issues on the interface between peace and justice as well as the legitimacy of
international criminal justice. The ultimate goal is to contribute to an international justice regime that is truly universal, legitimate and
effective.
The discussions will contribute to formulation and adoption of the AFLA initiated Policy Agenda for International Justice.
The experts and resource persons participating in the dialogue include
Professor Tiyanjana Maluwa,Co-ordinator of the Team of Experts of the AU High Level Panel on Darfur; Maina Kiai, Immediate past Chairman of the Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights; Mirjam Blaak, Deputy Head of Mission of Uganda in the Benelux and Paul Wilke, Ambassador of the Dutch ICC Task Force.
Some of the issues to be discussed will comprise: "Universality of International Justice, Perspectives of the European Union;"
"Africa and International Justice: Realities and Challenges;" "Africa and International Justice: Participant or Target," and "Africa and International Criminal Accountability: Lessons from the Mbeki Report on Darfur."
The statement said people who want to register for the meeting in Ghana could do so at Heritage Tower, Ambassadorial Enclave, off Liberia Road, Ridge in Accra; E-mail; program@africalegalaid.com; Tel: +233 21 660 997,
Fax: +233 21 680 641 andwebsite:www.africalegalaid.com/www.afla.nl.