12 Jul 2023

Botswana promotes the rule of law and accountability hence its domestication of a Rome Statute, known as the Serious Crimes of International Concern, says Minister of Justice, Mr Machana Shamukuni.

Responding to MPs when debated the Serious Crimes of International Concern Bill, which Parliament passed on Tuesday, Mr Shamukuni said it was not the first time that Botswana domesticated international conventions. He cited the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Convention on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention Against Torture.

He said Botswana domesticated the conventions although they were against the death penalty because they advocated for member states to be against the death penalty.

He said Botswana’s position was that the country’s constitution allowed for the death penalty, hence the country had entered its reservations.

He said the Serious Crimes of International Concern Bill would conform to the laws of Botswana which reflected the aspirations of Batswana. He said domesticating an international statute was to align it to the laws of Botswana, and that the country’s constitution remained the supreme law. He added that what was important when crafting laws was to reflect the aspirations of citizens.

Mr Shamukuni said some parliamentarians had suggested that the ICC was selective when discharging justice by targeting African countries. He said it was important for MPs to note that most of the cases before the ICC were reported by African states.

He said recently there were war crime investigations in Ukraine by the ICC as well as an order against the Russian president. He argued that it showed that the ICC jurisdiction was not only limited to Africa although most of its cases were from the continent.

He also told MPs that it was member states who gave the ICC jurisdiction by being party to the Rome Statute, adding that not all countries were party to the statute hence the court had no jurisdiction over them.

Mr Shamukuni said there was a need for countries to be party to the Rome Statute in order to afford their people an opportunity to get justice under international law.

He also stated that government as a state party to the Rome Statute was committed. He allayed fears that the bill after being passed into a law would not be implemented.

The Serious Crimes of International Concern Bill criminalises serious crimes of international concern such as genocide, crime against humanity and aggression. It repeals and replaces with amendments, the

Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Act of 2017.

Tabling the bill last week, Mr Shamukuni told legislators that the 2017 act was passed by Parliament in July 2017, but could not be implemented due to constitutional and legal implications, adding that the current bill was to cure the challenge. ENDS