Is the International Criminal Court hostile to Africa? Conflict selectivity and international criminal courts

After 13 years of selecting situations, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has thus far only investigated conflicts in Africa. This has led to accusations of the Court having an African bias when selecting which conflicts to prosecute. Some African leaders have even accused the court of simply being a tool of western imperialism. This article attempts to determine the veracity of the Africa-bias allegations by examining the ICC's current practice of selecting situations, as well as by placing the debate within the broader context of international criminal tribunals and conflict selectivity.