ICC informs UNSC of Sudan’s non cooperation on Bashir’s arrest
March 9, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The pre-trial chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said that Sudan failed to cooperate with the court by not arresting and surrendering president Omer Hassan al-Bashir to the Court over the last years.
The UNSC referred the Darfur case to the ICC under a Chapter VII resolution in 2005 since Sudan is not a state party to the court.
From the government side, the Sudanese president Bashir, defence minister Abdel-Rahim Mohamed Hussein, former state minister for interior Ahmed Haroun and Janjaweed leader Ali Kushayb were indicted by the ICC for war crimes allegedly committed in Sudan’s western region.
In December 2014, Bensouda announced in her semi-annual briefing before the UNSC that she will suspend new investigations into the Darfur situation citing lack of UNSC support and stretched resource.
On 4 March 2009, pre-trial chamber I issued a first warrant of arrest for Bashir, considering that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the suspect is criminally responsible for five counts of crimes against humanity and two counts of war crimes.
The same chamber, albeit with a different composition, issued a second warrant of arrest for Bashir on 12 July 2010, for three counts of genocide.
According to a statement issued by the ICC in the Hague on Monday, the chamber decided to inform the UNSC to take the necessary measures it deem appropriate.
The chamber stressed that “if there is no follow up action on the part of the UNSC, any referral by the council to the ICC under chapter VII of the UN Charter would never achieve its ultimate goal, namely, to put an end to impunity.”
It pointed out that although Sudan is not a state party to the ICC Rome Statute, it has an obligation to cooperate with the ICC.
“This obligation stems directly from the United Nations’ Charter as Sudan is a UN member since 12 November 1956 and the UNSC has adopted, under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, a resolution 1593 (2005) in which it was decided that the “Government of Sudan […] shall cooperate fully with and provide any necessary assistance to the Court and the Prosecutor pursuant to this resolution”, the statement read
According to UN estimates, at least 300,000 people have been killed since then, and another 2 million have fled their homes since the conflict erupted in 2003.
Sudan has cooperated with the court until the first arrest warrant against Kushayb and Haroun were issued in 2007.
Despite repeated non-cooperation findings referred by ICC judges to the UNSC, the council has declined to take action mainly over China’s likely move to block any resolution that would compel Sudan to cooperate.
(ST)