The International Criminal Court in the Hague. (JUAN VRIJDAG/AFP/Getty Images)
The International Criminal Court has announced that it is opening an inquiry into allegations of sexual abuse — leveled not against a war criminal, but one of its own former staff members in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The allegations were communicated by four individuals under the ICC’s protection program and, according to a press release issued by the court on Friday, were promptly reported to the relevant national authorities.
Coming on the heels of the rampant ICC-bashing in the Kenyan elections - indictee and eventual victor Uhuru Kenyatta was successful in leveraging widespread disillusionment as a powerful campaign tool — and the embarrassing comments of its former chief prosecutor, the ICC cannot afford more bad press on the continent, which makes its handling of the allegations crucial. Should the organization go the route of the United Nations — which has immunized itself against allegations of wrongdoing in similar cases - it could be a deathblow to the organization’s legitimacy.
Then again, even if it does indeed take ‘all appropriate actions to ensure accountability and fairness,’ as it claims it will, it’s hard to see that as a winning strategy: once the details of the charges reach the general public, the damage will be done. It’s hard to stand up for the rights of victims when you yourself can be tarred as an institutional victimizer.
