Arab League meeting to discuss Sudan’s ICC row

February 28, 2009 (KHARTOUM) — The foreign ministers for the Arab League will meet next Tuesday to discuss the imminent decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on war crime charges against Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir.

On Wednesday March 4th the ICC judges will release their decision on a case submitted by prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo against Bashir accusing him of masterminding a campaign to get rid of the African tribes in Darfur; Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa.

The deputy Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Bin Hili said in press statements that following the decision by the ICC there would be a unified Arab position on the matter.

Furthermore he said that the foreign minister in the Pan-Arab organization will hold a special session to discuss an expected ICC arrest warrant.

Arab and African countries have called on the UN Security Council (UNSC) to invoke Article 16 of the ICC Statute to halt proceedings against Bashir so as not to jeopardize peace efforts in Darfur and South Sudan.

However a joint Arab League – African Union delegation that traveled to New York earlier this month failed to convince the UNSC on the deferral as their demand was opposed by the US, UK, Austria and Croatia.

(ST)