The voice of The oppressed people
of The Sudan from Numle to Wadi Halfa and from Jananah to Kassla
Attorneys: Arrest warrants against Sudan president are illegal
By:
Samson Ntale
7/26/2010
Munyonyo, Uganda Arrest warrants issued for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir
for allegations of war crimes and genocide are illegal and should be revoked,
according to two British attorneys. The issue of immunity for a sitting
president has never been resolved, and can only be dealt with by the
International Court of Justice, according to Sir Geoffrey Nice and Rodney Dixon.
"There is a provision in the ICC (International Criminal Court) charter that
states should observe their obligations to other states in terms of immunity
even where there is an indictment by the ICC," Nice told reporters late Saturday
at the AU summit, held just outside the Ugandan capital of Kampala. The two
attorneys attended the summit as part of their work with non-governmental
organizations.
The International Court of Justice, based at The Hague, Netherlands, is the
principal judicial arm of the United Nations to settle disputes between U.N.
member nations, but it has no jurisdiction to try people for war crimes or
crimes against humanity.
The International Criminal Court, also based at The Hague, is an independent
treaty-based organization set up in 2002 by by countries to decide cases of
alleged genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. According to the ICC's
website, 111 nations have signed the treaty.
The ICC has issued two warrants for al-Bashir's arrest for his alleged role in a
five-year campaign of violence in Darfur in western Sudan.The original warrant,
the first ever issued by the court against a serving head of state, included
five counts of crimes against humanity, including murder, extermination,
forcible transfer, torture and rape. It also included two charges of war crimes
for intentionally directing attacks against civilians and for pillaging.
Earlier this month, the ICC issued a second arrest warrant for al-Bashir, adding
three new counts of genocide. The court said the new charges were in addition to
the earlier ones.Al-Bashir did not attend the summit, although his case is part
of the agenda, and thereby did not risk arrest.The AU earlier this year urged
the court to delay war crimes proceedings against al-Bashir, saying a decision
to allow the genocide charges harms efforts to bring peace to Darfur.
Al-Bashir has traveled to several countries since the warrant was issued, even
though any country that is party to the ICC has an obligation to hand him over
to the ICC, the court maintains.Leaders from several African countries have said
the ICC has been unfair to Africa and have threatened to pull out of the
court.According to the Sudan Tribune, Nice and Dixon represent two groups -- the
Sudan Workers Trade Unions Federation and the Sudan International Defense Group.
The attorneys have filed a motion with the ICC judges asking them to reject the
prosecutor's application to issue an arrest warrant for al-Bashir, the newspaper
reported Sunday.
The London, England-based attorneys urged AU leaders to appeal to the IJC to
have the arrest warrants revoked, saying the issue could result in unfavorable
consequences for the organization. They questioned whether a serving president
could be vulnerable to arrest when attending events such as the summit out of
obligation.Nice said the AU should express the same solidarity as when it hosted
al-Bashir in its last summit, and also should follow the example of Chad, which
hosted him last week.
"The government of Chad took a clear position that their immunity is in place
and hosted Bashir," Nice said. "Unless all other states take this clear stand,
this situation will remain a legal black hole and can potentially affect the
other states."They said al-Bashir's case was referred to the court by a
non-state party, although a case against a sitting president can only be
referred by a state party.Some NGOs backed the attorneys, saying Africa is being
unfairly targeted.
"We are not against international law, but against the biases of the ICC closing
its eyes on atrocities in Gaza, Afghanistan and Iraq, but indicting only African
leaders," said Mohammed Ansari, who claims to head an association of 42
non-governmental organizations aimed at finding a peaceful solution to the Sudan
crisis. "If African leaders stand together and say 'No,' they would have done a
great job since the ICC is focusing only on Africa."
He accused prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo of asking presidents to arrest one of
their own, and wondered whether sitting heads of state in Europe would receive
the same treatment.Al-Bashir was re-elected president of Sudan this year in
controversial but historic elections. He has appeared to thumb his nose at the
charges, appearing in public dancing and singing at a rally in Khartoum after
the original arrest warrant last year. His information minister has dismissed
the ICC as a "white man's tribunal."
