New York — In defiance of a court order, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has departed from South Africa. The South African government allowed his departure, in blatant breach of its obligations under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). There is now no immediate possibility of al-Bashir's arrest and transfer to the ICC to face charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
"The actions of the South African government have dealt a grave blow to the rights of victims of atrocities in Darfur and to the prospects of establishing a credible system of international criminal justice through the ICC," says David Tolbert, president of the International Center for Transitional Justice.
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