Why the ICC must confront Crimes Against Humanity by powerful nations

 

A photo of a courtroom or justice symbol, highlighting global concerns about unequal accountability in international law.

The International Criminal Court was created to defend humanity, protect the vulnerable, and hold the powerful accountable. Yet many observers argue that the ICC has not lived up to this mission.

The court has been vocal and decisive when addressing alleged crimes in developing nations, especially in Africa, but noticeably silent when similar or worse actions are carried out by powerful states. This imbalance has raised serious questions about fairness, credibility, and the true purpose of international justice.

 

Critics often point out that when developing countries face internal conflict, political instability, or leadership failures, the ICC is quick to issue statements, open investigations, or pursue indictments.

 

However, when powerful nations engage in military interventions, support oppressive regimes, or implement policies that lead to mass suffering, the response is far more restrained. 

These actions, when they cause displacement, civilian deaths, environmental destruction, or long‑term instability, are rarely labeled as crimes against humanity, even though the consequences are devastating.

 

This selective approach has created a painful contradiction. If a developing nation commits an act that harms its people, it is condemned as a violation of international law. 

Related post: What does crime against humanity mean to the International Criminal Court?

However, when a wealthy or influential country engages in similar conduct, it is often framed as “foreign policy,” “national security,” or “strategic interest.” The victims are the same. The suffering is the same. Yet the accountability is not there.

 

Many journalists, writers, and human rights advocates have highlighted this double standard. They argue that the ICC’s silence toward powerful nations undermines its legitimacy and weakens global trust in the idea of universal justice. 

When the world sees that some countries are shielded from scrutiny while others are targeted aggressively, it becomes difficult to believe that the court operates independently of political influence.

 

This imbalance also sends a dangerous message to developing nations. It suggests that international justice is not truly universal, but conditional applied to the weak and avoided with the strong. Instead of setting a moral example for the world, the ICC risks reinforcing the very inequalities it was created to challenge.

 

If the ICC is to fulfill its founding purpose, it must confront crimes against humanity wherever they occur, regardless of the nation responsible. Developed countries must not be treated as exceptions. Their actions shape global politics, influence conflicts, and affect millions of lives. When they commit or support actions that lead to mass suffering, the world deserves accountability, not silence.

 

The ICC has an opportunity to restore faith in international justice. It can demonstrate that no nation is above the law and that human dignity is not determined by geography or economic power. 

To achieve this, the court must begin speaking openly and firmly against crimes committed by powerful states. Only then can it set the example that developing nations are expected to follow. Justice must be universal, or it is not justice at all.

 

The promise of justice that doesn’t exist

 

Everyone deserves justice, which is fundamentally about fairness and equal treatment; however, many people are denied this fundamental right.

 

Hundreds of groups worldwide are actively involved in the struggle for justice, tackling structural injustices in different fields, including human rights, criminal justice reform, racial justice, and environmental protection.

 

However, because structural injustices and institutional defects make it difficult for justice to be realized, the promise of justice frequently seems unfulfilled, despite legal ideals like "equal justice under law" being embodied in national symbols and oaths. Millions of people lack genuine access to the legal system, particularly in civil matters today.

 

Groups like Amnesty International and the International Commission of Jurists work to expose injustices and pressure governments to act, particularly in cases of grave human rights violations such as genocide and crimes against humanity, yet the world is becoming more dangerous.

 

In the United States, organizations supported by Stand Together invest in initiatives aimed at ensuring equal justice under the law, promoting community policing, and reforming the criminal justice system through research and policy development, yet many people are denied justice.

 

As people push for greater involvement in decisions affecting their lives, peaceful demonstrators, journalists, human rights defenders, the underprivileged, defenseless individuals, and civil society groups are increasingly targeted.

 

Similar to the biblical quote "the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few," it appears that international law and adjudication are frequently insufficient to rectify widespread injustices, particularly when violence increases and legal channels become unavailable.

 

In reality, the lack of justice shows up as rifts in society, as Isaiah and other prophetic voices have bemoaned the lack of justice and the authorities' inability to enforce it, pointing out that peace can’t exist in the absence of justice.

 

Therefore, fighting for justice involves more than just combating systemic injustice; it also involves protecting the freedom to organize and speak out against it. This disparity highlights a significant gap between the promise and reality of justice, where rights exist in theory but are now only a pipe dream.

 

Even while the legal system appears to be effective, when enforcement is biased and affected by wealth, power, or convenience, it can turn into a performative gesture rather than a legitimate arbiter of justice. According to this viewpoint, the mere observation of injustice necessitates a standard of justice that surpasses the defective structures we design.

 

Similarly, Martin Luther King Jr. emphasized the inextricable link between justice and peace, stating, "There can be no justice without peace. And there can be no peace without justice.” However, despite such calls, many communities continue to experience systemic oppression and injustices faced by Native Americans, Blacks, and Hispanics.

 

Since the promise of justice is still unfulfilled, it will continue to elude the poor, other races, and the defenseless. However, regardless of the circumstances, Jesus’ love will be our comfort, hoping "We shall overcome someday." 

Why people lose hope in a world of injustice and oppression

Don’t blame the victims of a cruel system; blame the injustice that crushes their hope.

I am a very strong person; therefore, many times, I ask myself, what kinds of problems often push people to commit suicide?

 

Since I know very well that there is no problem, no matter how big or small, whether it has a solution or not, that can force me to kill myself.

 

However, after a certain period of time, based on my own experience with Google and politicians, including those of the United States and Belgian governments, I clearly understood the reason many are not interested in living in this world any longer.

 

If I commit a crime, I will be sent to prison, but Google abused its power and violated my rights by destroying our genuine health blog that exposes the US and Belgian governments, the World Health Organization, and the Centers for Disease Control for medical crimes committed against humanity, especially Black people, with impunity.

 

Decades after European countries lost their colonies in Africa, it still hurts them today; therefore, their revenge is to decimate the continent with man-made diseases, such as HIV, AIDS, Ebola, Lassa fever, tuberculosis, etc., and many others, yet they don't like to be exposed or to talk about them.

 

African-Americans have been killed through man-made diseases and contaminated vaccines in large numbers, while many Black people in Africa have also perished through biological weapons.

 

In reality, the truth is what makes one a patriotic person, but today, lies and deception rule the world; therefore, your truth makes you an enemy. You will be treated like a criminal just because you are not interested in living that deceptive life.

 

The world is now so dangerous and full of lies that life is meaningless to many people today, which is the reason suicide has increased more than before. I can't imagine being ruled by political criminals known as politicians today.

It's very disgusting and sheer wickedness knowing the type of people we have in politics today, causing pain, hardships, and suffering to other people for their selfish gains through man-made diseases, and continuing to let the world know that bats, primates, monkeys, bushmeat, poverty, etc., are responsible.

As for me, I am too strong to entertain any suicidal thoughts because life is precious to me; however, the blood of the innocent people politicians have killed will always remain indelible in their hands.

 

Subjecting people to suffering because of the truth even makes them tougher than they can be, and I am happy to be one of them.

YAHYA JAMMEH OF GAMBIA: WHY THE WEST AND AMERICA HATE HIM?

Yahya Jammeh of Gambia


Many African leaders think they have had enough of colonial masters and wouldn't like to do anything with them. Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and Yahya Jammeh of Gambia are two of them. 


They suddenly became enemies because of their views on homosexuality and the fact that the West finds it hard to deal with them.  In fact, the West and America pray to see an immediate end to the governments of Mugabe and Jammeh.

The Western media quickly find fault with the two African leaders for human rights violations and muzzling of the press, but gross human rights violations are more often witnessed in Advanced Countries than in Africa. 

Due to poverty, Advanced Countries use aid as a weapon against Africa, as they threaten leaders to accept homosexuality and all their immoralities, which have destroyed their community. 

Any strong African leader is seen as a threat, and the only way they think could subdue them is to dominate the leaders with unfriendly political issues.

Mugabe is on the list as one of the most hated leaders in Africa, followed by Yahya Jammeh. In 2008, Jammeh gave an ultimatum to gays and lesbians to leave his country, saying he would "cut off the head" of any homosexual found in the nation. 

Two years later, the European Union canceled €22 million (HK$236 million) of aid because of concerns over human rights and governance issues. Financial aid to Africa is a granted loan to pay back, so why this bluff?

The big question: Whenever any epidemic breaks out, how many people go to Africa to deal with the situation? (Thanks to those who have sacrificed their lives to help Ebola victims in Africa) Africa is a continent that has suffered a great deal. 

World leaders should understand the reason African leaders don’t trust them any longer. No one listens to the voice of an African leader; the West, therefore, shouldn’t expect African leaders to listen to whatever they say.

“What brought Britain to the Gambia in the first place? The trade in ivory because the Gambia had a lot of elephants, they ended up wiping out the elephants, and turned around and started selling Africans. The British instituted slavery. 

The only thing they left us, unfortunately, is the English language,” said Jammeh. The reason he wants to drop English as an official language in his country is.

The Gambia, as a member of former British colonies, shocked the Commonwealth by withdrawing from the 54-nation bloc, calling it ‘An extension of colonialism.’ People aren't sincere and far from the truth. 

African leaders have seen their betrayal and underestimation and wouldn't like to drive us like puppets on a string. Many believe money is what is going to solve the problems in this world, not at all. We need to love ourselves, meaning taking the plight of others into consideration to give them the love and care they deserve.