Kenyan Constitution

Kenya enacted a new constitution in 2010 as part of a peace accord that ended the 2007 post-election violence. Among the key aims of the charter was to strengthen the judiciary’s independence from the executive to build trust in its authority. Since the enactment in August 2010, the country has appointed a new chief justice, established a Supreme Court and undergone a process of vetting its judges.

Kenya’s successful election in March also demonstrates it’s capable of hearing the cases,Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom said in an interview at the summit yesterday.

Only Botswana objected to the request for the ICC to transfer the cases, Sudanese Foreign Minister Nhial Deng Nhial said in an interview today.

African leaders also decided to create an “intervening force” to deal with African crises including coup d’etats, Hailemariam said. “Almost all countries have agreed we will have a rapid response capability in Africa,” he said.

Stabilizing Force

The measure is until an African Standby Force to stabilize crisis-hit countries is deployed as early as 2015, Lamamra said. It’s uncertain whether the standby force will be ready in 2015, he said.

South Africa, Uganda and Ethiopia volunteered to implement the interim initiative, which will be funded solely by contributing nations, he told reporters today.

African states will still need foreign assistance as security operations are financially “very demanding,” Tedros said. Ethiopian troops fighting al-Qaeda-affiliated militants in neighboring Somalia are funded by Ethiopia’s government.

“The force could be 100 percent from us but we still will need logistics support from the international community,” he said.

Current conflicts on the continent include Nigeria’s battle against Islamist militants. President Goodluck Jonathan imposed emergency rule in three northeastern Nigerian states on May 14 and began a ground and air offensive against Boko Haram, which seeks to impose Shariah law in Africa’s biggest oil-producing nation.

Congo Fighting

In eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, fighting has flared for the first time in six months between members of the M23 rebel group and government soldiers. The UN is stationing an intervention brigade there to support a peacekeeping mission.

French military forces intervened earlier this year to fight Islamist rebels in Mali, part of a region awash with weapons and armed groups after the overthrow of former Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi. The United Nations Security Council on April 25 authorized the deployment to Mali of 11,200 peace-keepers and a separate French unit to end the threat of the insurgents. The force was criticized by the AU. The UN should authorize more “robust” missions that can combat aggressors, Lamamra said.

To end reliance on foreign partners that fund the union, leaders decided governments will suggest new financing mechanisms, such as additional national taxes on flights or hotel rooms, Lamamra said.

The decisions on funding and the interim force are “of historic nature and scope,” Lamamra said.

The summit, which ended today, marked half a century since the formation of the Organization of African Unity. The OAU was disbanded and succeeded by the AU in 2002.

“There was no better time than the context of 50th anniversary to take bold decisions that show it’s not business as usual,” Lamamra said. “We mean to do things better, and do things more efficiently and unanimously.”