Sudanese cabinet approves draft law to join ICC

August 3, 2021(KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese cabinet on Tuesday approved a draft law to join the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“Today, during the cabinet’s regular meeting, we unanimously approved a draft law on Sudan’s accession to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, before a joint meeting between the Sovereign Council and the cabinet for approval,” said Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok in a statement on Facebook.

“Justice and accountability are the firm foundation of a new Sudan, committed to the rule of law, we all seek to build,” he added.

Sudan is not a state party to the ICC’s Rome Statute. The government had signed the statute in September 2000 but withdrew its signature in August 2008.

The Constitutional Document governing the transitional period stipulates to ratify all agreements and charters on human rights and justice.

Also, the Juba Peace Agreement signed by the transitional government and the armed groups in Juba in October 2020 provides to accede to the Rome Statute.

In March 2005, the Security Council referred the investigation into war crimes in Darfur to the ICC.

Sudan refusal to cooperate with the war crimes court led the ICC general prosecutor to issue an arrest warrant for Omer al-Bashir to be the first sitting president to be indicted by The Hague court.

The position of the military component over al-Bashir’s handover remains unclear.

Last year, the Head of the Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al Burhan said willing to hand over the ousted president to the court. However, this year several times speak about cooperation with the ICC to try him inside Sudan referring to the principle of complementarity.

Besides al-Bashir, the ICC indicted Ahmed Haroun, a former State Minister for Interior, Abdel Rahim Hussein, former Interior Minister Ali Kushayb a former militia leader currently under trial in The Hague and Abdallah Banda a fugitive former rebel.

(ST)