Djibouti will not honor its Rome Statute obligations, invites Sudan’s Bashir
April 5, 2009 (KHARTOUM) – The government of Djibouti announced that it has extended an official invitation to Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir despite an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for him.
“We will secure his visit without any negative implications on Sudan” Parkad said.
Djibouti ratified the Rome Statute which is the founding text of the ICC in 2002 making the country legally obligated to apprehend Bashir once he arrives on their territory.
However the Djiboutian official said his government will “breach” its commitment to the ICC without elaborating on whether this means they will officially withdraw from the court.
According to the Rome Statute any withdrawal by a member country will take effect at least a year after it makes the official notification.
Las month the African Union (AU) Commissioner for Peace and Security, Ramadan Lamamra, announced that a meeting of the African States members of the ICC will convene on the eighth and ninth of June to discuss their position on the membership of the Court.
In the event that Djibouti refuses to comply with cooperation request from the ICC the ICC may refer the matter to the Assembly of State Parties for further action.
The Sudanese president had made visits to half a dozen states, though none of them were members of the ICC.
However despite the invitation, Bashir may be unwilling to visit Djibouti as it hosts French and US military bases.
Some officials in Khartoum have expressed fears that foreign fighters may intercept Bashir’s plane and force him to land in a country where he would be extradited to The Hague.
The Burundian president whose country is an ICC member visited Sudan following the ICC indictment and met with Bashir last month. He criticized the judges’ decision to issue an arrest warrant for Bashir.
On March 4th the ICC judges issued an arrest warrant for Bashir on seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, which include murder, rape and torture. The three-judge panel said it had insufficient grounds for genocide.
(ST)