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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The Magnificent Seven: Africa's Response to U.S. Article 98
Authors:Cotton, Deborah Helen
Odongo, Godfrey OdhiamboISNI
Year:2007
Periodical:African Human Rights Law Journal
Volume:7
Issue:1
Pages:1-34
Language:English
Geographic terms:Africa
United States
Subjects:foreign policy
international agreements
International Criminal Court
international relations
Law, Human Rights and Violence
Abstract:What are the motivating factors that enable certain States to withstand pressure from other States? To ensure that the International Criminal Court does not gain jurisdiction over its nationals, the United States is currently seeking to sign Bilateral Immunity Agreements (BIAs) with all countries under the rubric of the American Service Members' Protection Act. The present article examines the debates over BIAs and analyses responses to the BIAs of seven countries within the African region which have refused to sign a BIA, viz. Kenya, Lesotho, Mali, Namibia, Niger, South Africa and Tanzania. The authors specifically examine the ways in which States are able to withstand the pressure to sign a BIA by taking advantage of internal and external institutional structures and mechanisms. Important explanations of the ability of these States to refuse to give in to signing a BIA are the constraints imposed by regional organizations; pressure from NGOs, civil society, and the media; a perceived legal obligation to the ICC, as State parties to the Rome Statute and the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties; and State sovereignty. Notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]
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