AU fast-tracks creation of African court

African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa

ADDIS ABABA: The African Union starts today the fast-tracking of the ratification of a protocol that will vest the continent's international criminal jurisdiction on a regional court, as the push for Africa's mass withdrawal from the Rome Statute gains momentum.

Member States at the AU Summit, which kicks off today at Addis Ababa are expected to start lobbying for the signing of the Malabo Protocol that will create an African court, usurping the international criminal jurisdiction, that are currently vested on the International Criminal Court (ICC).