Kenya comes under fire for agreeing to receive Sudan president

August 25, 2010 (WASHINGTON) – Human rights groups today chided the Kenyan government ahead of a visit by the Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir who will take part in the celebration of the country’s new constitution adopted through a referendum that took place this month.

Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for ten counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide allegedly committed in Darfur. He is the first serving head of state charged by the Hague tribunal.

Kenya is signatory to the ICC treaty known as the Rome Statute making it legally obligated to arrest Bashir and surrender him to the court. However, the African Union instructed its members in two decisions over the last year not to apprehend the Sudanese president but fell short of threatening to punish any country in the continent which cooperates with the ICC on Bashir’s case.

Sudan official news agency (SUNA) said in a brief statement that Bashir will fly to Nairobi on Friday accompanied by his adviser Mustafa Ismail, foreign minister Ali Karti and intelligence director Mohamed Atta Al-Moula.

This will be his second visit to an ICC state party after Chad which took place last month. Before that he avoided visiting any members of the court for fear of arrest. He had shunned an invitation to the Inter-government Authority on Development (IGAD) Summit this year in Nairobi.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned the upcoming visit saying that Kenya ” will forever tarnish the celebration of its long-awaited constitution if it welcomes an international fugitive to the festivities”.

“Even worse, hosting al-Bashir would throw into question Kenya’s commitment to cooperate with the ICC in its Kenyan investigation” said Elise Keppler, senior counsel in the International Justice Program at HRW.

The ICC opened an investigation into post-election violence that took place in Kenya three years ago. The Kenyan government rolled the red carpet for prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo during his highly publicized visit and senior officials there including president Mwai Kibaki and prime minister Raila Odinga vowed to cooperate with the court.

“Whether Kenya allows a suspected war criminal into Kenya is a test of the government’s commitment to a new chapter in ensuring justice for atrocities,” said Keppler. “The Kenyan government should stand with victims, not those accused of horrible crimes, by barring al-Bashir from Kenya or arresting him.”

The Kenyan section of the international commission of jurists (ICJ) also criticized Bashir’s visit calling it “unconstitutional and a breach of Kenya’s International obligations”.

“[Bashir] could not be more unwelcome especially at a time when Kenya is celebrating the passage of a new Constitution” the statement read.

“By inviting President Bashir, given his inability to travel to other parts of the world, the Kenyan government is effectively endorsing international crimes, particularly crimes against humanity as suffered by both Kenyan and Sudanese victims”.

“The new Constitution is clear that International Law is a source of law in Kenya, recognizing also that Kenya is a signatory to the Rome statute and is obliged both the Statue and the international crimes act to cooperate with the ICC”.

“The new constitutional order that will be ushered in is one of respect for the Rule of law, Human Rights and governmental obligations nationally and internationally, the government can therefore not begin implementing the new Constitution in a manner that defeats the spirit of the Constitution”

“Other State Parties to the Rome Statute have been clear on their obligations under the treaty in relation to the ICC’s arrest warrants against President Bashir. South Africa, Nigeria and Uganda expressly stated that they would be under an obligation to arrest President Bashir were he to set foot on their territory. We expect no less of the Kenyan Government.

(ST)