Failure to arrest Sudan’s al-Bashir undermines impunity: ICC prosecutor
December 12, 2017 (KHARTOUM) – The international community’s lack of cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to arrest Sudanese president damage UN efforts to hold accountable those responsible for genocide and crimes against humanity, Fatou Bensouda told the Security Council on Tuesday.
The war crimes court issued two arrest warrants for the Sudanese president the first was issued on 4 March 2009, the second on 12 July 2010. However, he used to travel across the world and with the support of the African Union and Arab League.
The Prosecutor called on the Security Council to “prioritise action” on the arrest of the first sitting Head of State to be indicted by the war crimes court, stressing that there “no justification for States Parties” to fail to arrest an ICC suspect “irrespective of that person’s official status”.
“This costly inaction has the potential to undermine the fight against impunity, the effect of which is to lower the bar of accountability that many have fought to raise,” Bensouda said.
“This continuous nonfeasance only serves to embolden others to invite Mr a1-Bashir to their territory, safe in the knowledge that there will be no consequences from this Council for such breaches,” she added.
On Monday, the court said that Jordan was non-compliant when al-Bashir visited Amman in March 2017 for an Arab meeting and decided to refer the matter to the Assembly of States Parties of the Rome Statute and to the Security Council.
The 15-member body has the power to impose sanctions for a failure to cooperate with the ICC, however, so far it did not act on court referrals.
South Africa, Uganda, Chad and Kenya are all members of the Hague-based court but it didn’t take such a measure against them. several African countries threatened to withdraw from the court in the past.
(ST)