ALSO READ: ICC confirms receipt of petition to probe Raila, Kalonzo“Burundi’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute will take effect on Friday, 27 October 2017,” an ICC spokesperson said. Burundi yesterday hailed it as a “historic” day and called on people to demonstrate across the country on Saturday (today) in celebration. “The decision to withdraw Burundi from the Rome Statute comes at a time when the machine continues to kill with impunity in Burundi,” said Lambert Nigarura, president of the Burundi Coalition for the ICC. But ICC officials said a preliminary probe launched by the prosecutor in April 2016 into possible crimes against humanity in the central African nation would continue. The ICC now has 123 member states who have ratified the 1998 Rome Statute, the guidelines which underpin the work of the tribunal.

Source: Standard Digital October 27, 2017 21:33 UTC