International inaction encourages Sudan’s Bashir to defy ICC: Bensouda
June 9, 2016 (WASHINGTON) – The lack of international action against President Omer al-Bashir emboldened him to defy the international Justice and to travel around the world, said International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda Thursday.
Presenting her twenty-third report to the Council on the situation in Darfur, Bensouda said this inaction by the Security Council “has emboldened Mr Al Bashir to continue travelling across international borders despite the fact that two arrest warrants have been issued against him by the Court”.
She further said that Council’s failure to act has “equally emboldened states, both parties as well as certain non-parties to the Rome Statute, not only to facilitate Mr Al Bashir’s travels to their territories but to invite and host him”.
She emphasized that such an evolving trend risked setting an “ominous precedent,” which, unless redirected, will not bode well for similar genuine efforts aimed at bringing those responsible for mass atrocities to justice.
“Above all, such nonfeasance has emboldened some States to publicly express pride in disregarding the Council’s authority,” she said, which should be a matter of great concern to all.
Sudanese president was recently in Djibouti and Uganda, the two states are member to the Rome Statute, to attend the inaugurations of President Ismail Omar Guelleh and President Yoweri Museveni.
Bensouda further said that her work on Darfur was complicated by the lack of access to Sudanese territory, resource constraints and non-execution of the long-outstanding arrest warrants against Sudanese officials, which have all contributed to the slow progress in investigations.
The ICC issued arrest warrants for the Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir, his former Interior Minister Abdel Rahim Hussein, the former deputy Interior Minister Ahmed Haroun, and a former militia leader Ali Kushayb.
African countries members of the UN Security Council including Angola, Egypt and Senegal showed their commitment to the African Union’s position on the ICC and called to suspend criminal proceedings against President Bashir.
Chinese and Russian envoys also expressed their support to the AU’s position. The Japanese representative expressed his support to the ICC and called to bringing those responsible for Darfur crimes to justice.
The Sudanese Ambassador Omer Dahab Fadl Mohamed said his country had no connection whatsoever with the ICC pointing that article 13 (b) of the Rome Statute did not indicate its applicability to non-signatory States.
He added that the decision to refer the Darfur situation had been unfounded, and it was unfortunate that countries of the Northern hemisphere had exempted themselves, while African countries suffered discriminatory treatment.
(ST)