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Dr Dominic Ayine, Deputy Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, as challenged the International Criminal Court (ICC), to end the selective prosecution of African leaders.

  He said the act of targeting Africans in the attempt to seek justice, contradicts the standard permitted under any constitutional justice system which calls for fairness in the prosecution of offenders.

 He said although the extent of crimes that were committed by Africans cannot be measured against the ones committed in other parts of the world, the perception of unfairness by Africans have worsened the feeling of disaffection against the Court.

  Mr Ayine said this at the opening of a two-day Law Conference on international criminal justice in Accra.

   The conference seeks to explore ways to promote better dialogue and engagement between critics and supporters of the Court and its work, and would reflect on the growing importance and need to address the core barriers in the way of its development.

  It would also create a platform for discussion on issues involving legitimacy, impunity, selectivity, fairness and accountability of the ICC, and confront perceptions, clarify issues that promote suspicions, as well as skepticism on the ICC and its work.

   Mr Ayine said the perception of prejudices against Africa in the selection of cases to investigate and prosecute has arisen substantially as a result of the non-pursuit of cases elsewhere in the world, which by all standards of criminal justice should to have been investigated and prosecuted.

  “There are equally good cases of injustices and mass murder perpetrated in other parts of the world, but the ICC has failed to pursue them”, he said.

    He advised Mrs Fatou Bensouda, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, who was also the special guest speaker at the conference, to address the perception about the ICC, and to ensure fairness in the discharge of her prosecutorial duties.