Ban defends decision authorizing U.N. officials to attend Bashir’s inauguration
May 24, 2010 (WASHINGTON) – The Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-Moon today defended the presence of his two top representatives in Sudan at the inauguration of president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir next Thursday saying that people should not misinterpret the move.
Haile Menkerios, head of the U.N. Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), and Ibrahim Gambari, joint head of the African Union/U.N. Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), are scheduled to attend the ceremony according to U.N. spokesperson last week.
“These [UNMIS& UNAMID] are very important missions, and for operational purposes, the SRSGs [Special Representatives of the Secretary-General] in UNMIS and UNAMID have been meeting with Sudanese Government officials. This is what they have been doing, and they will have to continue to do. We have a critical mission, for the peace and stability of this, and including the implementation of the CPA, which will have very, very important consequences in next July’s referendum” Ban told reporters in New York today.
“This is not more than that. What they are doing is not more than that, they are doing exactly within the framework of their mandate” the top U.N. official added.
Human right groups have urged world officials to boycott the ceremony citing Bashir’s indictment by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for his alleged role in war crimes committed in Sudan’s Western region of Darfur.
“Al-Bashir is a fugitive from justice who should be arrested, not feted,” said Elise Keppler, International Justice Program senior counsel at Human Rights Watch. “Attendance at al-Bashir’s inauguration would send a terrible message to victims in Darfur, and globally.”
The top officials at the ICC have consistently called on governments particularly those signatories to the Rome Statute to avoid non-essential contact with individuals wanted by the Hague tribunal.
But Africa which forms the majority of court members have dispatched its officials on a regular basis to meet with Bashir despite the outstanding warrant. The African Union (AU) adopted a decision last year prohibiting the continent from cooperating with ICC in apprehending Bashir even though several nations later dissented from this resolution.
The Sudanese government today announced that among the attendees at the inauguration are the Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu.
The Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa will not be able to attend due to scheduling conflict but will instead send his deputy, Sudan said.
Ban said that the inauguration “it is part of a very important political event for the Sudanese people”.
“They have elected President [Omer] Bashir as their President. You cannot say this is only ceremonial, nothing to do with political implications. They are there, mandated by the Security Council, and appointed by me, and for UNAMID, appointed jointly by me and the African Union – he [Mr. Gambari] is a joint Special Representative. So I think this should be regarded as part of their very serious official critical mission, not more than that” he said.
Khartoum has hailed the participation of Gambari and Menkerios describing the decision as “reasonable and balanced”.
The U.N. Secretary General himself has minimized any contacts with Bashir since the warrant was issued for him in line with the advice given to him by the legal department in the world body.
(ST)