International Criminal Court (ICC), June 2018

The ICC is an international tribunal which, since 2002, has judged individuals charged with the most serious crimes (genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, etc.). However, barely two-thirds of states accept the ICC’s authority. Only in Latin America and Europe is the Rome Statute widely ratified; it is much less endorsed in Africa and very rarely in the Middle East and Asia. This means that the United States, China, Russia, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Turkey are outside the ICC. Although completed trials have all concerned individuals from African countries – which has led to repeated criticism –, investigations have also been conducted outside Africa, in Colombia, Iraq, Ukraine, Afghanistan, the Philippines, and Venezuela.