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Burundi's parliament passes bill on Burundi's pullout of Int'l Criminal Court

Xinhua, October 13, 2016 Adjust font size:

Lawmakers at both chambers of the Burundian parliament, the National Assembly and the Senate, Wednesday passed the bill on Burundi's pullout of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Burundian Justice Minister Aimee Laurentine Kanyana was invited in separate plenary sessions at both chambers of the Burundian parliament to convince lawmakers to vote for the bill.

"The International Criminal Court (ICC) has become an instrument of superpowers to fight against African countries. That is why we (Burundi) want to leave the ICC," said Burundian Justice Minister Aimee Laurentine Kanyana.

The decision seen as a great decision by the Burundian ruling party, the National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD), was however criticized by opposition lawmakers who said that crimes will continue to be unprosecuted.

MP Zenon Ndaruvukanye said the international community is unfair as it supports Burundian criminals living abroad.

"The international community only plans to destroy Burundi despite our good plans for democracy. That's why I, as a lawmaker, think that leaving the ICC is very good because the ICC is unfair. It promotes wrongdoers and harasses those seeking the country's development," said Ndaruvukanye during the debate

However, a few lawmakers opposed the bill during the debate.

Fabien Banciryanino said, "Leaving the ICC is like burying Burundi considering unpunished crimes currently taking place in Burundi."

MP Andre Ndayizamba stressed that leaving the ICC is a "political and diplomatic error" for Burundi.

After the debate at the National Assembly, out of 110 MPs who attended the session, 94 voted for the bill, two were against and 14 others abstained.

The minimum required number of MPs for the bill to be adopted was 73, according to the speaker of the National Assembly, Pascal Nyabenda.

Last week, Burundian First Vice-President Gaston Sindimwo announced that Burundi had decided to pull out of the International Criminal Court (ICC) because it only prosecutes Africans.

Burundi's pullout of the ICC follows Tuesday's decision to suspend all cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Burundi following the report by three UN independent experts on "gross and abundant" human rights violations in Burundi.

Those three experts have also been declared persona non grata in Burundi. Endit