ICC prosecutor meets with presidents of Chad and Senegal

July 15, 2010 (PARIS) — The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Luis Moreno-Ocampo met this week in the French capital with Chadian president Idriss Deby and Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade, Sudan Tribune has learned.

An official at the prosecutor’s office said the separate meetings tackled issues of cooperation and latest judicial developments at the ICC.

Both leaders were present in Paris to take part in Bastille Day celebrations.

On Monday, the ICC judges charged Sudanese President Omer Hassan Al-Bashir with three counts of genocide. Last year, judges issued a warrant against Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity, but refused to indict him on genocide charges as sought by Ocampo.

The prosecutor appealed that ruling, and four months ago an appellate court ruled that the lower court’s decision was legally wrong.
The decision marked the first time the world’s first permanent war crimes tribunal has issued genocide charges.

The arrest warrant for Bashir said there were “reasonable grounds to believe” that since April 2003 Sudanese forces attempted genocide against the Darfur tribal groups Fur, Masaalit and Zaghawa.

The African Union (AU) criticized the legal proceedings initiated against Bashir saying they threaten to destabilize Sudan at a critical juncture when Darfur conflict remains unresolved and ahead of a self determination vote by citizens of South Sudan.

The UN Security Council (UNSC) ignored AU calls to defer the warrant prompting the Pan-African body to adopt a resolution halting any cooperation with the ICC in apprehending Bashir even if they are signatories to the Rome Statute.

African officials also accused the ICC of unfairly targeting their continent.
Senegal and Chad have both initially vowed to comply with their obligations under the Rome Statute to arrest the Sudanese head of state if he sets foot on their territories.

In 2008, Wade told Bashir during a phone conversation that he would not be able to offer him refuge if there is an arrest warrant for him and that at they are party to the ICC and they cannot “make an exception”.

However, Senegal later changed heart and lobbied along with Libya, Djibouti and the Comoros Island other African nations to withdraw from the court in response to the Bashir arrest warrant. However the proposal was turned down and no African state unsigned the ICC Statute.

The Chadian president whose country had tense relations with Sudan recently said that contrary to his earlier positions he invited Bashir to visit Ndjamena and would guarantee his safety despite the outstanding arrest warrant.

(ST)