Sudan vows response to AU countries supporting ICC

August 7, 2009 (KHARTOUM) — The Sudanese government today slammed African nations that have recently announced that they will not stand by the African Union (AU) decision halting cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC) on arresting president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir.
Four years after the UN Security Council (UNSC) referred the Darfur situation to the ICC, the latter issued an arrest warrant for Bashir last March for his alleged role in orchestrating war crimes in Sudan’s Western region of Darfur.
Sudan rejects the jurisdiction of the ICC saying its judiciary is capable of prosecuting violators of human rights in the country. A special Darfur prosecutor appointed by Khartoum last year have not produced any indictments to date.
The AU decided in a summit held last month in Sirte, Libya that those countries that ratified the ICC Statute shall disown their obligations to cooperate with the court in arresting Bashir.
The pan-African body justified the move by the failure of the UNSC to consider their request to suspend the warant under Article 16 of the Rome Statute.
Sudan has hailed the AU resolution as a major victory while human right groups and Darfur rebels blasted it promoting impunity.
However, over the last few weeks some countries including Botswana, Chad, Uganda and South Africa distanced themselves from the AU decision announcing that they would arrest Bashir if he steps on their soil.
A senior unnamed Sudanese official told the pro-government Sudanese Media Center (SMC) website that “voices coming out of some African officials in Pretoria and Kampala on ICC will not prevent Sudan from going forward in what it views as achieving pride and dignity to the nation first of all and Africa secondly”.
The official despite the “courageous and bright” support received at the Sirte summit against ICC “we are hearing dissenting voices every now and then in some African capitals…..some supporting and defending Sirte decision and the right of Africans to resist international hegemony and ICC,”.
“[Other] voices are suggesting the need to honor their status as signatories to the Rome Statute and the rules of the ICC,” he added.
The influx of statements by Sudanese officials recently warning African countries of reneging on the AU resolution reflects worries that other states in the continent may follow suit, isolating Bashir among his peers.
Khartoum has said following the decision that Bashir can travel anywhere without fearing arrest.
The Sudanese official said that the “embarrassing” conflicting position from South Africa and Uganda “reflects confusion in choosing between national sovereignty and defending the continent as outlined in the AU charter or bending down to Western countries that support the ICC,”.
“Sudan has the tools and mechanisms that allow it to respond to the fluctuating position,” the official warned.
The AU resolution was seen by many as a result of intense pressure by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and some African officials said that no debate was allowed on the topic, something which the AU secretariat dismissed as false.
However, the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC) said in a statement last month that African government representatives at the summit told them of “unprecedented levels of intimidation and pressure by the host government and Chair”.
“Foreign Ministers were reportedly furious with Mr. Gaddafi’s interference in their meeting and negotiations that preceded the Head of State summit. We heard reports that ministers were threatened by Gaddafi, emails censored, faxes blocked. Government representatives who might have objected to the text were prohibited from commenting on the declaration,” their statement read.
Hundreds of NGO’s across Africa issued statements blasting the AU and called on the states to reiterate its commitment to the ICC.
Yesterday the Kenyan foreign minister Moses Wetangula said that the AU does not and has not and will not say that President Bashir is innocent, because we have no capacity to say that. He has been investigated, he has been indicted,”.
(ST)