Diletta Varlese
3 July 2009
Sirte — The final day of the African Union summit has been dedicated to the issue of the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, charged with seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape and torture.
The thirty or so African states that are signatories to the ICC are obligated to arrest Bashir, should he set foot on their soil, and turn him over to the court. Nonetheless, the continental body has taken a decision not to cooperate with the international court.
"What we see here is very heavy-handed attempt by Libya to force states who are members of ICC to abandon their legal obligation and to give a free pass to Omar Al-Bashir to traipse around the continent without worry," Reed Brody, spokesperson for New York-Based Human Rights Watch told IPS. HRW has taken an active role in urging that the indictment of Bashir is upheld.
"But the fact is that States have legal obligation, they cannot erase by a political resolution here. The proposal for the rest of the states not to arrest Al Bashir is a slap on the face of people of Darfur."
One argument made by those who want to see the Bashir indictment suspended or dropped is that the court has unfairly targeted Africans, and would never bring similar charges against officials from the United States or Israel.
Responding to the efforts to thwart the ICC in an opinion piece in the New York Times, former U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan wrote: "One must begin by asking why African leaders shouldn't celebrate this focus on African victims. Do these leaders really want to side with the alleged perpetrators of mass atrocities rather than their victims?
"Is the court's failure to date to answer the calls of victims outside of Africa really a reason to leave the calls of African victims unheeded?"
Annan pointed out that in three of the cases of Africans facing indictment, it was the governments of their respective countries that put the cases up for consideration by the international court. "The fourth case, that of Darfur, was selected not by the international court, but forwarded by the U.N. Security Council."
Namibia ratified its membership of the ICC in 2002; Namibian ambassador to Zimbabwe, Ndali-Che Kamati, who was in Sirte for the summit explains his government's view.
"The position of my government is that we do not condone impunity, but when it comes to the position of Sudan, and the indictment of President Bashir, we think it is not the right moment. Because we have serious issues to deal with in Darfur and Southern Sudan, and we think that this indictment does not give us any space for manoeuvre to persuade and work together with Sudan government to have these issues resolved."
Annan urged African leaders to remain firm. "The ICC represents hope for victims of atrocities and sends a message that no one is above the law. That hope and message will be undermined if the African Union condemns the court because it has charged an African head of state.
"The African Union should not abandon its promise to fight impunity. Unless indicted war criminals are held to account, regardless of their rank, others tempted to emulate them will not be deterred, and African people will suffer."
As the summit drew to a close however, a statement was released announcing that "The AU member states shall not co-operate... relating to immunities for the arrest and surrender of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to the ICC."
Bashir is effectively free to travel the length and breadth of the continent.
Read comments. Write your own.
Copyright © 2009 Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
The below email sent to the ICC expresses how deeply I feel betrayed by the decision on Bashir taken at the AU summit in Libya.
"PLEASE DO NOT LET BASHIR OFF THE HOOK
I pray in the name of God, that you do not allow yourselves to be influenced by the nonsensical decision taken by our so-called African leaders at the AU summit. If there was any need for evidence that our leaders are more concerned about themselves than the people they lead, then this is it.
I do not understand how, in a continent in which probably more… [Read Full Text]
What happens in Africa is sad. I dont agree with Museveni's prolonged stay in power. But I agree with him 100% on the issue of USA for Africa. Gaddafi said in April that he does not belive in elections, arguing instead that one party rule the best model for Africa. How ridiculous and less thoughtful is such as stand. USA of Africa is hundreds if not thousands of years away. Let Africa chew before it swallows. With Bashir, he should join Taylor at the ICC. Why not? If he is inoocent he will be aquitted. The fact that he doesnt… [Read Full Text]
In his piece entitled “ White Collar War Crimes, Black African Fall Guys,”
investigative journalist Keith Snow writes:
First note that the ICC can now be viewed as a tool of hegemonic U.S. foreign policy,
where the weapons deployed by the U.S. and its allies include the accusations of, and
indictments for, human rights violations, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
To understand this, we can ask WHY NO WHITE MAN HAS YET BEEN CHARGED
with these or other offenses at the ICC (International Criminal Court) which now holds
five black African warlords and seeks… [Read Full Text]
* 16 European Nations . Met And Plotted On How They Would Rob Africa Of Its Riches.
* They met during two(2) Periods of time in two(2) places
* The General Act Of Berlin Conference (Nov, 1884 to February, 1885)
* Brussels Belgium to finalize SECRET agreements ( Nov, 1889 to July 1890)
* The Book “King Leopold’s Ghost (1998) by Adam Hochschild documents some of This information.
The following Nations (Households) - Planned how they would divide among themselves our AFRICAN Riches.
1) Austria-Hungary - Francis Joseph I Charles - August 18,… [Read Full Text]
In his piece entitled “ White Collar War Crimes, Black African Fall Guys,”
investigative journalist Keith Snow writes:
First note that the ICC can now be viewed as a tool of hegemonic U.S. foreign policy,
where the weapons deployed by the U.S. and its allies include the accusations of, and
indictments for, human rights violations, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
To understand this, we can ask WHY NO WHITE MAN HAS YET BEEN CHARGED
with these or other offenses at the ICC (International Criminal Court) which now holds
five black African warlords and seeks… [Read Full Text]
It surprises me that of all people it is Kofi Annan,who is preaching morality and justice.It does not help the cause of the ICC or the people of Dar Fur to have someone like Annan,defending their cause.He disgraced Africa enough as Secretary General of the United Nations.
See all comments (63).
Active Discussions: African Union Summit