Mbeki panel seeks alternative ways to Bashir’s Darfur indictment
July 10, 2009 (WASHINGTON) — The African Union (AU) panel tasked with looking into issues of peace and accountability in Darfur is looking for alternatives to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to achieve justice in Sudan’s western region.
The indictment of Bashir stirred controversy throughout Africa and the AU urged the UNSC to invoke its powers under the Rome Statute to suspend it for a period of 12 months that can be renewed indefinitely.
Last week the African Union (AU) summit in Sirte, Libya adopted a resolution instructing its members who are ICC members not to cooperate in apprehending the Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir despite their legal obligations to do so.
The eight-member commission was established by the AU last February in response to the imminent issuance of Bashir’s arrest warrant which came a month later.
The ICC warrant against Bashir include seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. This week the ICC prosecutor filed an appeal for the inclusion of genocide charges that were dropped by the judges for lack of evidence.
Mbeki speaking from the Ethiopian capital said that the panel is working within the AU public position calling for deferring Bashir’s indictment.
“Our principal — the body that formed us (AU) — has said ‘delay the serving of those warrants’,” Mbeki said according to Agence France Presse (AFP).
“We will address the justice issue in a comprehensive manner that has been suggested by our interlocutors,” he added during a press conference at the AU’s headquarters.
The former South African president added that the issue of justice needed different handling than the ICC.
“Of course there are people who are saying… that people who have been charged by the ICC should indeed appear before the ICC,” he said.
“But the central issue is that everybody agrees that this matter of justice is important and has to be addressed in different ways with a different sort of intervention,” he said.
Earlier today Reuters quoted Mbeki as saying that the three individuals indicted by the ICC must stand before court and defend themselves.
“The consensus reached is that those charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity should appear in court and defend themselves,” he said. “The warrant has been issued. There is nothing that can be done.” Reuters reported.
A senior official at the African Union – United Nations mission in Darfur (UNAMID) told Sudan Tribune that the report created “a great deal of tension and fear of backlash”.
There was no confirmation or denial on the accuracy of Reuters’s report or the context it was mentioned.
Multiple sources told Sudan Tribune that Mbeki has lobbied intensely to prevent the Sirte summit from endorsing the Libyan backed proposal arguing that it will undermine the work of his commission.
Some critics have said that the AU panel is trying to protect Bashir from prosecution. The AU decision last week was condemned by Darfur rebels and human right organizations as condoning impunity.
The panel’s mandate has not been made public but it includes assessing Sudanese judiciary as well as reconciliation and compensation mechanisms.
(ST)