AU summit to discuss continued membership of the ICC is scheduled for next month in Addis Ababa

AU puts ICC in the dock
From Mail & Guardian by Karabo Keepile, 28 May 2009 - excerpt:

(Johannesburg, SA) - African civil society is mobilising to counter threats by some African countries to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) next month.

The African Union is now criticising the ICC "openly and loudly", said Max du Plessis, senior research associate at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and associate professor of international law at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Du Plessis was speaking at a workshop convened by the ISS last week in Stellenbosch to consider the work of the ICC in Africa, attended by about 40 representatives of African civil society organisations.

An AU summit to discuss continued membership of the ICC is scheduled for next month in Addis Ababa. Some AU states accuse the court of unfairly targeting African countries, the most recent flashpoint being the issuing of an arrest warrant in March for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.