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OUTSOURCING JUSTICE: AFRICA AND THE POLITICS OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT By OUMAR BA A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2017 © 2017 Oumar Ba To the memory of my father, Khalidou Saidou Ba To my mother Aissata Nazirou Ly To Mamadou Khalidou, gone too soon ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I extend my sincere thanks to the members of my dissertation committee: Drs. Aida Hozic, Leonard Villalón, Ido Oren, Dan O’Neill, and Sharon Abramowitz. Dr. Hozic has provided me with the guidance and mentorship that constantly pushed me to reflect on myself as much as I reflect on my subject. But for the funding opportunity that Dr. Villalón offered me, I would not have could not have started my doctoral studies at UF. Drs. Oren, O’Neill, and Abramowitz probing questions pushed this work in directions that I had not anticipated, and expanded my intellectual horizon. This dissertation project was funded in part by generous grants from the UF Center for African Studies, the Department of Political Science, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the UF Graduate School. I owe these institutions, their faculty and staff a debt of gratitude. In Uganda, Amanda Edgell and Dr. Charlotte Mafumbo offered me tremendous help by facilitating my fieldwork research and connecting me to key resources. In Kenya, Tom Wolf taught me a lot about Kenyan politics and pointed me to new directions. Sammy Gachigua made me feel home in Nairobi, shared many cups of tea – Kenyan style, with copious amounts of sugar and milk – and connected me with his colleagues around the country. I also express my deep gratitude to all those who agreed to be interviewed for this work, and shared their insights, experiences, and personal stories with me. Over the past six years, Leo Villalón and Fiona McLaughlin made Gainesville a welcoming and nurturing place, which provided much social, moral, and intellectual support. Their generosity is without parallel; indeed, amuleen morom. Abdoulaye Kane and Aissé (Ba) Diallo fed this perpetually hungry grad student on countless occasions, 4 and opened their home, recreating a Fouta atmosphere in the heart of Florida. For this, I simply say on njaaraama. I have benefit from a tremendous support from my friends and colleagues in the department of political science. I cherish the shared memories, the moments of joy, doubts, and pain throughout these years of camaraderie. I would like to particularly thank Lina Benabdallah for having been present and supportive every step of the way, from the first semester to the finish line. Lina’s wit has always made the very long study and writing sessions at various coffee shops and library rooms more enjoyable. Finally, my decades of schooling and pursuit of intellect curiosity was sustained by my family support and understanding. I would not have made it this far without the help of my uncles Amadou Ly and Saikhou Oumar Ly, my aunt Néné Couro and grandmother Maam Poulo. If there is any merit in this work, it is theirs. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 4 LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ 9 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER 1 REGIMES OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE ............................................................ 12 The ICC and Regimes of Transnational Criminal Justice ........................................ 17 The ICC and African States .............................................................................. 20 The ICC as a Biased Court ............................................................................... 21 Africa’s Weak Judicial Systems ........................................................................ 23 From State Party Referral to Self-Referral: Unintended Use (and Abuse) .............. 25 Failure of the Complementarity Principle ................................................................ 29 The Limits of State Compliance .............................................................................. 33 The Court is the Political Arena .............................................................................. 35 A Word on Justice ................................................................................................... 37 Sources for Evidence .............................................................................................. 39 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 41 2 STATES, INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, AND HUMAN RIGHTS BASED REGIMES ............................................................................................................... 43 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 43 The Rise of International Legalism ......................................................................... 43 International Legal Regimes and State Sovereignty ............................................... 44 Balancing Norms of International Justice with States’ Interests .............................. 48 Taking Norms Seriously .......................................................................................... 50 International Socialization ....................................................................................... 51 Problematizing States’ Interests ............................................................................. 52 The “Justice Cascade” ............................................................................................ 53 Unraveling the Justice Cascade: A Critique ............................................................ 55 When Norms Subversion Becomes Strategic ......................................................... 59 3 OUTSOURCING JUSTICE AND PERVERTING INTERNATIONAL LEGAL NORMS .................................................................................................................. 63 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 63 From State Referrals to Self-referral: The Perversion of an Idea ............................ 67 State Referrals or Self-referrals: What’s in a Word? ............................................... 69 Uganda’s History of Political Violence .................................................................... 71 Northern Uganda in the 1990s: Abductions, Internment and Repression ............... 74 6 Northern Uganda in the 2000s: Amnesty, Peace Talks, and ICC Prosecution ....... 77 Uganda’s Self-referral to the ICC ............................................................................ 79 The ICC in Uganda: A Joint Venture ...................................................................... 80 Self-referrals as a (Temporary) Marriage of Convenience ...................................... 82 In Uganda’s Interests ....................................................................................... 83 Self-Referrals as ICC’s Safe Bets .................................................................... 86 The Politics of Self-Referrals .................................................................................. 88 Making Friends and Enemies of Mankind......................................................... 89 Is the Self-Referral in the Interest of the Local Populations? ............................ 90 The ICC Warrants: Uganda’s Winning Strategy and the Road to Juba .................. 92 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 96 4 THE ICC, THE UNSC, AND NON-STATE PARTIES: THE POLITICS OF JUSTICE ................................................................................................................. 98 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 98 The UN Security Council and The ICC ................................................................... 99 The Article 16 Trap ............................................................................................... 102 The Politics of UNSC Referrals: Do International Treaties Apply to Non- Signatories? ....................................................................................................... 106 Can the UNSC Remove President Bashir’s Immunity?......................................... 107 The Politics of UNSC ICC Non-Referrals: The Case of Syria ............................... 111 The Libya Referral ................................................................................................ 116 The UNSC Resolution 1970 ........................................................................... 118 Libya’s Political Maneuvering ......................................................................... 119 The Case against Saif Al Islam: Admissibility Challenge Denied .......................... 121 The Al-Senussi Case: The Successful Admissibility Challenge ............................ 124 Two Admissibility Challenges, Two Different Outcomes ....................................... 125 Complementarity’s Blind Spot: The ICC Is Not a Human Rights Court