France turns down request by Sudan for mediation with ICC
October 20, 2008 (PARIS) – The French government rejected a request by Sudanese officials to act as an intermediary with the International Criminal Court (ICC), a French official told Sudan Tribune.
But Paris stressed to a visiting Sudanese delegation lead by senior presidential adviser Nafi Ali Nafi, that there is no alternative to cooperating directly with the ICC to achieve justice in Darfur, the French diplomatic sources said.
In a press conference Nafi said that Sudan is willing to deal with the ICC through a third party, an ICC member country, a law firm or a non governmental organization such as the Arab Lawyers syndicate.
In mid-July the ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo announced that he is seeking an arrest warrant for Al-Bashir.
The ICC’s prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo filed 10 charges: three counts of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and two of murder. In early October ICC judges have officially started reviewing the case in a process that could possibly drag on to next year.
Sudan and a number of regional organizations including the African Union (AU), Arab League, Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) condemned Ocampo’s request and called on the UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution deferring Al-Bashir’s indictment.
But the UNSC has been divided on the issue particularly the Western countries on the council hesitant to support such a move.
Khartoum appointed a special prosecutor for Darfur crimes and announced that it will try militia commander Ali Mohamed Ali Abdel-Rahman, also know as Ali Kushayb who is wanted by the ICC.
However many observers expressed skepticism on the seriousness of Khartoum to prosecute war crimes perpetrators.
Sudanese officials were told by their French counterparts that they need to cooperate with the international community to end the five year conflict in Darfur and to deal properly with the issues of justice, humanitarian aid and the peacekeeping force in the war ravaged region.
Furthermore the French diplomatic sources denied that bilateral ties between with Sudan were tackled during the three days visit as it was said by Nafi Ali Nafi in press conference held in Paris on October 7.
The official also underscored that the Qatari initiative should not minimize the role that the joint mediator Djibril Bassole should play in the peace process. He said the parties involved in this process are in agreement on this point.
The Qatari mediation comes after the failure of Libya to organize peace negotiations in October 2007, and the change of the two peace envoy who observers believed have failed to make any breakthrough.
(ST)
Mr Famous Big_Logic_Boy
France turns down request by Sudan for mediation with ICC
This must be an ICC business,only we’re waiting to hear that this crimial has come into the ICC trape, lets leave ICC alone with its business just to let him feel free not ranning like how he left Ghana in the morning without brushing his teeth. He thinks that it’s good to killed but it’s bad to be killed.What a joke so why are you now hiding like an owl who travels at night.