Court to report failure to arrest Sudan's President al Bashir

Wed, 08 Dec 2010

New York - The International Criminal Court was expected to inform the UN Security Council on Thursday that the government in Khartoum has failed to implement international arrest warrants against President Omar al Bashir and other Sudanese officials.

ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo was scheduled to present a fresh six-month report on his activities, which so far have been futile with regard the arrest of al Bashir, who was re-elected for a new term this year.

ICC judges had issued in May a judicial decision informing the council that Sudan failed to cooperate in the arrest of two other Sudanese officials involved in mass killings in Darfur: Ahmad Muhammad Harun and Ali Kushayb.

The ICC is to provide the council with an overview of its prosecutorial and investigative activities in the past six months.

The ICC, supported by a strong coalition of 2,500 civil society organizations in 150 countries, has been asking governments to carry international warrants to arrest the Sudanese, who have been indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

"Any lack of cooperation with the ICC threatens to undermine the authority of the Security Council, which referred the situation in Darfur to the court in 2005," said Tanya Karanasios, the program director of the Coalition for the ICC. "We urge the council to reiterate its support to justice for the victims of Darfur."

The war in Darfur that pits Khartoum against African rebel groups has killed over 300,000 people since 2003, the UN said. More than 2 million Darfurians have become refugees.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/357260,sudans-president-al-bashir.html.