African Union chief criticizes genocide charges against Sudan president

July 17, 2010 (ADDIS ABABA) — The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU) Jean Ping issued a statement on Friday criticizing the addition of genocide charges against the Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir this week by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The court on Monday accused Bashir of three counts of genocide, saying there were “reasonable grounds” that he masterminded a plan aimed at exterminating Darfur African tribes of the Fur, Masaalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups.

Over a year ago, , the ICC issued a warrant for Bashir’s arrest on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, its first ever for a sitting head of state, but stopped short of accusing him of genocide. An appeals chamber overruled exclusion of genocide and ordered the Pre-Trial Chamber to review the case again.

“This decision, which confirms AUJs previous concerns, came at a particular time marked by progress in the democratic transformation of the Sudan, following the April 2010 general elections, and renewed efforts towards the completion of the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), including the holding of the self-determination referendum in South Sudan and negotiations on post-referendum arrangements, as well as towards the search for a lasting and inclusive political solution to the crisis in Darfur” Ping said.

The decision also comes at a time when the AU, through the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP), is carrying out consultations with the Government of Sudan and other stakeholders on how best to proceed with the implementation of the recommendations put forward by the AU High-Level Panel on Darfur (ALIPD) on justice, reconciliation and healing. These efforts are informed by the AUJs commitment to fighting impunity, in line with its Constitutive Act and other relevant instruments”.

The AU established a panel headed by former south African president Thabo Mbeki to look at justice mechanisms in response to the initiation of judicial proceedings against Bashir which started in July 2008. The commission called for a hybrid court with participation of foreign judges to try war crimes suspects and changes to Sudanese laws. It took no position on the ICC warrant except to say that the Hague-based tribunal cannot try all the suspects, effectively supporting its work.

However, since the endorsement of Mbeki’s findings by the AU, no progress has been made on the justice track and it is not clear when implementing the hybrid court proposal would commence. Khartoum gave a cool reception to the proposed court with some officials suggesting it is an infringement on the country’s sovereignty.

Ping noted that “neither the United Nations International Commission of Inquiry, nor the former AU Mission in Sudan (AMIS) and the AU/UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) upheld the accusation of genocide in Darfur”.

The U.N.-appointed inquiry in 2004 found no genocide but found that some individuals may have acted with genocidal intent.

In 2006 the Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo urged Sudan to accept a UN role in its troubled western Darfur region, saying that “genocide” was developing there.

“The Chairperson of the Commission notes that the AU is of the conviction that this new and untimely decision by the ICC and its action in general on Sudan are counterproductive, and will complicate the ongoing efforts and increase the risk of instability, with far-reaching consequences for Sudan, the region and Africa as a whole”.

“It is against this background that the AU, once again, urges the United Nations Security Council to assume its responsibilities and act on the call for the deferral of the process initiated by the ICC against President Omar Hassan Al Bashir in the interest of peace, justice”.

The AU angered by UNSC refusal to freeze the warrant, adopted a resolution last year stating that no country in the continent will cooperate with the ICC in apprehending the Sudanese president even if they have legal obligations under the Rome Statute under which the court was formed.

The decision drew outcry from Darfur rebels and rights group who accused the pan-African body of being complicit in human rights abuses on the continent.

“The AU should lead by example, but in certain situations it has become part of the problem,” said the London-based Amnesty International group in a report released last May.

(ST)