BAKAMPA BRIAN BARYAGUMA
[Dip. Law (First
Class)–LDC; Cert. PELD–NaLI-K; Cert. Oil & Gas–Mak; LLB (Hons)–Mak]
MOBILE: +256753124713
& +256772748300;
EMAIL: bakampasenior@gmail.com;
WEB ADDRESS: www.huntedthinker.blogspot.com;
Kampala, Uganda.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Sunday, 9th February, 2025.
To:
The
President,
International
Criminal Court,
PO
Box 19519,
2500
CM, The Hague,
The
Netherlands.
Your Excellency,
Re: Expression of Solidarity with the
ICC in the Face of US Government Sanctions and Israeli Government Mudslinging
A universal renunciation of
violence requires the commitment of the whole of society. These are not matters
of government but matters of State; not only matters for the authorities, but
for society in its entirety, including civilian, military, and religious
bodies. The mobilization which is urgently needed to effect the transition …
from a culture of war to a culture of peace demands co-operation from everyone.
In order to change, the world needs everyone,” Federico Mayor, former Director-General of UNESCO.
Thank
you for the good work you are doing for the world. God bless you.
The
statement of Amb. Federico Mayor is both instructive and compelling, calling
for action from the global public on matters of great international importance.
Being a great supporter of the International Criminal Court (ICC), it is in
that spirit that I hereby contact your Excellency. As a matter of fact, this is
the second time I am writing to you on matters of the Court. The first was in
2013 (vide my letter dated Monday, 16th September, 2013). I was
exceedingly humbled and profoundly honoured by a reply from the Head of the
Outreach Unit (vide her letter, Reference:
2013/PIDS/OU/009/CP, dated 26 September 2013). I look forward to visiting
you at the Court one day.
Your
Excellency, I am appalled by the sanctions imposed on the ICC by the President
of the United States of America, HE Donald J. Trump, in an Executive Order, and
the mudslinging of the Court’s officials by the Prime Minister of the State of
Israel, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Netanyahu, rebuking and punishing the Court for
issuing an arrest warrant against the Prime Minister of the State of Israel and
his former Defence Minister for suspected crimes committed in Gaza, in the
territory of Palestine.
On this note therefore,
I wish to express my solidarity with the ICC in the face of this unwarranted
assault and also thank the Court for championing the cause for global justice,
peace and order by holding perpetrators of crimes accountable, no matter who
they are or how powerful they may be. Crime is abhorrent
irrespective of who commits it; and all culprits should be pursued and
subjected to fair and just investigations and subsequently trial, if need be. Every
human life counts/matters and should be valued and respected by all and sundry. I note that this is the
second time that President Trump and Premier Netanyahu are sanctioning and mudslinging
the ICC. From my research and studies in diverse fields of law, social and
political sciences, and economics, I am aware that if such actions and rhetoric
from senior global figures is tolerated, that would surely be recipe for disaster
because the world will descend into lawlessness and become a NAZI-like state
where might is right.
I
learnt from media reports that Premier Netanyahu and his co-accused former Minister
appealed against issuance of the arrest warrant. That is the right thing to do
if one is dissatisfied with court results; but not, at the same time, seeking
to circumvent and pre-empt legitimate processes through underhand extra-judicial
measures like imposing sanctions on court officers. That is tantamount to duplicity,
double standards, subversion of justice and breach of the cardinal legal principle
of equality before and under the law.
By
looking elsewhere in the world, at least we, in Africa, are grateful to the ICC
for dispelling the perception and propaganda of our leaders that it is a racist
institution, designed for Africa, to operate as an avenue for neo-colonialism
and Western domination by only targeting African leaders. This demonstrates
that the ICC is a truly international court that is capable of holding other
offenders elsewhere accountable, and also helps eradicate the slander and
stigma that it is only Africans who commit crimes of global concern.
Otherwise,
for us in Africa we thank the Court for standing with us in our search for
sanity in leadership by routing out wanton abuse of human rights by leaders
through rampant misuse of power. The ICC has proved to be a reliable partner in
this noble cause by promoting personal accountability for excesses through apprehending
culprits. Nowadays we increasingly see self-restraint from authorities on the
continent because they are well aware that those who trample upon people’s
rights are being watched and will surely be brought to justice. We
hope this success can be replicated everywhere.
In
conclusion, I condemn the imposition of sanctions and mudslinging leveled
against the International Criminal Court by President Donald Trump and Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the Court performing its mandate. I call upon
people everywhere to support and stand in solidarity with the Court and push
back against such attacks on it. By copy of this letter, I respectfully request
President Trump and Premier Netanyahu to desist from undermining the ICC.
Further, I call upon the US Government to revoke the sanctions imposed on the
Court’s officials.
Yours faithfully,
[signed]
Bakampa
Brian Baryaguma
Mobile: +256753124713 & +256772748300.
Email: bakampasenior@gmail.com.
Web: www.huntedthinker.blogspot.ug.
Copy
to: 1. Immediate
Office of the Registrar
2. Immediate Office of the Head of the Outreach
Unit
3. President
Donald Trump (through HE the US Ambassador to Uganda)
4. Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (through HE the Israeli Ambassador for Uganda)
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