The Diplomatic Crisis between the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the African Union (AU)

Abstract

The prosecution of Omar al-Bashir by the International Criminal Court (ICC) led to a diplomatic crisis between the African Union (AU) and the ICC between 2005 and 2020. This study aims to analyze this deteriorating relationship using securitization theory to determine whether the AU perceived the ICC as a tool of neo-colonial legal control. The findings indicate that the AU gradually perceived the ICC as a threat to African sovereignty and head of state immunity, resulting in the extraordinary measure of ignoring Bashir's arrest warrant. However, I contend that AU members did not necessarily perceive the ICC as a 'neo-colonial' threat. For if such a conviction had been true and prevalent, more extraordinary measures, such as mass withdrawal and ratification of the Malabo Protocol, should have ensued. Therefore, the securitizing efforts of actors such as al-Bashir and Kenyatta resulted in a partially accepted securitizing move.