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Darfur II: African Union and Arab League Meetings; Reactions to Outcome of the Meetings; Op-Eds

23 July 2008

Dear all,

This is the second of a three-part message on the current situation in Darfur, Sudan and the repercussions on last week's application by the ICC Prosecutor to the Pre-Trial Chamber I to issue a warrant of arrest under against Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur.

In this message you will find information on the recent emergency meetings on Darfur by the League of Arab States and the African Union; reactions from different groups in Sudan and op-eds.

For more information on Darfur and the ICC, please visit the Coalition's site at http://coalitionfortheicc.org/?mod=darfur

Please take note of the Coalition's policy on situations before the ICC (below), which explicitly states that the CICC will not take a position on potential and current situations before the Court or situations under analysis. The Coalition, however, will continue to

provide the most up-to-date information about the ICC.

Best regards,

Mariana Rodríguez-Pareja

CICC Communications

[email protected]

I. AFRICAN UNION MET IN ADDIS ADABA

i. "AU seeks to block charges against Sudan leader," Reuters, 21 July 2008

http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnMCD148656.html

"The African Union urged the U.N. Security Council on Monday to put on hold the International Criminal Court's moves to indict Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir over war crimes in Darfur.

The call, after a meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council in Ethiopia, followed a similar appeal by the Arab League and boosted to Khartoum's diplomatic efforts to block any indictment.

The international court's prosecutor has asked for a warrant for Bashir on suspicion of masterminding crimes against humanity in Darfur. The crisis over the possible indictment has raised fears for the fragile peace process in Africa's biggest state.

'The African Union requests the U.N. Security Council...to defer the process initiated by the ICC,' the AU council said in a statement after the meeting, which was called by Sudan...."

ii. "AU asks UN to delay Sudan war crimes charges," AFP, 21 July 2008

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5j_oyQDTMFTjR2o7kNThR_10pEITg

" The African Union on Monday asked the UN Security Council to delay a decision by the International Criminal Court on whether to indict Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir on war crimes charges.

'The African Union requests the UN Security Council to defer the process initiated by the ICC, taking into account the need to ensure that the ongoing peace process is not jeopardised,' Nigerian Foreign Minister Ojo Maduekwe told reporters.

'We are asking for a delay within the rules of the Rome Statute,' he said at the end of AU's Peace and Security Council meeting in Addis Ababa..."

iii. "Official: al-Bashir genocide indictment could threaten Sudan peace deal," AP, 21 July 2008

www.pr-inside.com/official-al-bashir-genocide-indictment-could-r714818.htm <http://www.pr-inside.com/official-al-bashir-genocide-indictment-could-r714818.htm>

"The indictment of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir could threaten a fragile peace deal between northern and southern Sudan, Sudan's ambassador to the African Union said Monday.

Akuei Bona Malwal made the comments on the sidelines of an emergency high-level meeting of the African Union's Peace and Security Council. He also said Sudan would ask AU members at the meeting to refuse to uphold the indictment.

.... An AU official backed assertions that the indictment could threaten the peace deal..."

iv. "Kenyan minister urges African leaders to challenge ICC decision on Bashir,"

BBC Monitoring Africa - Political, 21 July 2008 [link not available]

Text of report by Kenyan privately-owned TV station NTV on 21 July

"Justice Minister Martha Karua has challenged African leaders to stand up against the calls by the International Criminal Court to have Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir arrested for allegedly abating genocide in Darfur.

Karua says Africa should not agree to be treated like colonies of the West. Karua was speaking at a pan-African conference on sexual and gender violence.

[Karua] What is emerging is that there is selective application of international law. We have heard recently of an attempt to indict the president of Sudan. We have not heard any mention or any concern of the atrocities that are committed in Iraq, in Afghanistan or in areas where Western powers are causing conflicts that have actually ended up violating human rights. We want to recognize there is a problem in Darfur..."

See also:

i. "AU seeks to delay Bashir indictment," Al Jazeera, 21 July 2008

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2008/07/200872114839853387.html <http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2008/07/200872114839853387.html>

ii. "AU seeks to delay Al-Bashir indictment," Dialy Monitor (Uganda), 23 July 2008

http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/news/AU_seeks_to_delay_Al-Bashir_indictment_68665.shtml

iii. "Sudanese Officials Meet With AU on ICC Charges," VOA, 21 July 2008

http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-07-21-voa30.cfm

II. ARAB LEAGUE EMERGENCY MEETING IN CAIRO AND MUSSA'S VISIT TO SUDAN

i. "Arab nations condemn war crimes claim," The Advertiser (Australia)

July 21, 2008

[link not available]

"THE chairman of an emergency Arab League meeting yesterday said a decision by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to charge Sudan President Omar al-Bashir with genocide and war crimes had set a dangerous precedent.

Djibouti Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssef at the opening of the one-day meeting of 22-member nations he chairs, said of the 10 charges brought against President Omar al-Bashir: `The indictment is a dangerous precedent in dealing with heads of state. It will have dangerous repercussions, not only on Sudan but on the whole region.''

ii. "Arab resolution on Sudan rejects "attempt to politicize" principles of justice,"

BBC Monitoring Middle East, 20 July 2008

[link not available]

Text of report by state-run Egyptian news agency MENA website

"The Council of the Arab League [AL] at the ministerial level has said it does not accept the unbalanced stand by the International Criminal Court [ICC] prosecutor regarding the request in the indictment he referred to the court. It stressed solidarity with Sudan in the face of any plans aiming to encroach on its sovereignty, unity and stability.

In its resolution issued after its meeting today on the ICC prosecutor's request to issue an arrest warrant against Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir, the council stressed the legal competence and independence of the Sudanese judiciary, and that it has the original jurisdiction to establish justice. It called - in the light of the trials that were held, to complete trials and achieve justice through follow-up by the Arab League and the African Union [AU].

The council expressed rejection of any attempt to politicize the principles of international justice and use it to undermine countries' unity, security, stability or national symbols.

The council urged the international Security Council to shoulder its responsibilities in maintaining international peace and security, deal cautiously with the situation in Sudan over the coming period and not to give the chance to any side, action or measure that would lead to undermining of the political settlement efforts of the Darfur crisis or create an atmosphere of instability in the country, thus threatening the future of peacekeeping efforts in Darfur or in South Sudan.

The council tasked the Arab League secretary-general and the ministerial committee on Sudan to continue to follow this issue and submit a report to the council in this regard..."

iii. "Arabs seek exit strategy from Sudan war crimes crisis," AFP, July 19, 2008

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5j7Sg-yqPwxeOQwCl2wKfofwNFGyA

"Arab foreign ministers held crisis talks on Saturday on how to deal with the International Criminal Court prosecutor's bid to arrest Sudan President Omar al-Beshir for alleged genocide in Darfur.

ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo on Monday asked ICC judges to issue a warrant for Beshir's arrest on genocide charges, which, if granted, would be the first ever issued by The Hague-based court against a sitting head of state.

Some of the Arab League's 22-members have criticised the move, saying it threatens peace prospects in Darfur, while also fearing a dangerous precedent for other leaders in the region.

'The ministers will discuss the possibility of asking the United Nations Security Council to adopt a resolution asking for the ICC to suspend its procedures for 12 months,' one Arab diplomat told AFP, requesting anonymity..."

iv. "Mussa in Sudan talks over war crimes row," AFP, 20 July 2008

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jspwFxvKwXIT9G7f3d0erP-25I8A

"Arab League chief Amr Mussa held talks with Sudan's President Omar al-Beshir on Sunday, armed with a plan in his pocket tipped to try to stall possible war crimes charges against the head of state.

'In so far as work is concerned, we had very, very serious discussions for the duration a little less than two hours,' Mussa told reporters after meeting Beshir in the Sudanese capital.

'We agreed that I'm going to meet with the vice president and with some of the ministers and the advisors tomorrow. So in pursuance to what we have discussed, we might come back to him,' he added.

.... Mussa flew to Sudan with an agreement from Arab foreign ministers to seek a political solution to the row sparked when the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court sought an arrest warrant for Beshir..."

v. "Al-Bashir receives Moussa," Qatar News Agency, July 20, 2008, [link not available]

"Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir received tonight Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa who is currently visiting Kharotum.

In a statement after the meeting Moussa said he briefed President Al-Bashir on the outcome of the Arab League foreign ministers meeting, held yesterday in Cairo to discuss the International Criminal Court prosecutor's call for the indictment of the Sudanese president..."

See also

ï. "Arab League slams 'unbalanced' ICC prosecutor," AFP, 19 July 2008
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5g-AVVI4pIbhgitHEFBe7bUpc6sAg

ii. "Arab League meeting chairman says Sudan genocide charges will have dangerous repercussions,"AP, 19 July 2008

http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=13452

III. SPECIAL COURT FOR DARFUR CRIMES?

i. "Arab League criticizes ICC arrest warrant for Sudan President," The New Sudan Vision, 20 July 2008

http://www.newsudanvision.com/news/arab-league-criticizes-icc-arrest-warrant-sudan-president-1158

" Arab foreign ministers said that Sudan's courts should judge alleged Darfur war crimes in a resolution following the crisis talks over the ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo's request on Monday for Bashir to be arrested on genocide charges. The resolution said that 'effective justice will be realized with the follow-up of the Arab League and the African Union.'

ii."Sudan agrees to try Darfur rights violators at home," Reuters, 22 Jul 2008

http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL221012497.html

"Sudan has agreed to try anyone it suspects of crimes in Darfur in Sudanese courts and will allow the United Nations, African Union and Arab League to follow the proceedings, an Arab League official said on Tuesday.

The move appeared aimed am defusing a crisis over a decision by the International Criminal Court prosecutor to seek an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

But it would be up to Sudan to decide who to try, and Arab League official Hesham Youssef could not say if two Sudanese officials indicted by the ICC last year would face charges.

...... Youssef said Sudan had also agreed to possibly form special courts on Darfur or to appoint a special prosecutor to more effectively address the Darfur troubles. Sudan had previously formed special courts following a 2005 U.N. Security Council resolution referring Darfur to the ICC, but those trials fizzled out.

IV. REACTIONS IN DARFUR AFTER MEETINS OF THE AU AND AL

i. "Darfur rebels condemn AU on ICC warrant," Reuters, 22 July 2008 http://africa.reuters.com/world/news/usnL22832812.html

"Darfur rebels accused the African Union of bias on Tuesday after it said it would urge the U.N. Security Council to suspend any warrant to arrest Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes. [...]Djibril Bassole, the joint U.N.-AU Darfur mediator made his first visit to Sudan on Sunday to try to revive a stalled peace process. But Khalil Ibrahim, head of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), said his rebel group would no longer recognise AU efforts to mediate a peace process.

'The African Union is a biased organisation and is protecting dictators and neglecting the African people,' Ibrahim, head of JEM, the most militarily powerful rebel group, told Reuters from Darfur. Sherif Harir, a senior member of the Sudan Liberation Army Unity faction, also told Reuters that for any AU mediation to succeed, it would have to answer why it had taken such a stance...."

ii. "AU biased, Darfur rebels complain,"Afrol news, 22 July 2008

http://www.afrol.com/articles/29939

"Sudanese rebels have accused African Union of biasness following its statement on Monday saying it will urge UN Security Council to suspend warrant of arrest of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.

Justice and Equality Movement leader Mr Khalil Ibrahim said his group would no longer recognise AU efforts to mediate a peace process in the country. AU has just commissioned a new mediator Mr Djibril Bassole who will resume his duties next month.

.... Army of Democratic Popular Front, an Arab rebel group also criticised AU stance, saying it knew ex-militia members who would be witnesses in president al Bashir trial who had been ordered by government to commit atrocities.

'We support ICC, we see Mr al Bashir as a war criminal and has direct responsibility for genocide and bombing with military aircrafts or helping militias on the ground,' group's secretary general Osama Mohamed al-Hassan said..."

iii. "ICC Indictment Sparks Hope, Fear," Inter Press Service, 18 July 2008

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=43234

"The indictment of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on 10 counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide has greatly encouraged some Darfuri human rights activists. Other observers in Sudan fear it will provoke a backlash from the government, further worsening the situation in Darfur.

'We do not know what will happen next. But for the survivors of Darfur, the process initiated by the International Criminal Court is of immense significance in itself,' says Salih Osman Mohammed, a member of the Sudanese parliament and a human rights lawyer.

[...]'The sense of impunity he has had so far is gone. For the people in the camps it is sufficient to know that someone is identifying those responsible for the crimes against them,' asserts Salih..."

See also:
i. "Darfur rebels express regret over AU resolution on ICC," Sudan Tribune, 22 July 2008

http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article27969

V. OPINIONS AND COMMENTARIES

i. "Why Arab League plan to freeze Sudan president indictment will fail," by Wasil Ali, Sudan Tribune, 21 July 2008

http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article27962

"News reports have indicated that the Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa will travel to Khartoum and offer the government a plan to have Sudanese courts prosecute Darfur war crimes suspects in return for freezing indictment of president Omar Hassan Al-Bashir.

The plan supposedly would set up special courts that would look into Darfur crimes and therefore this would halt the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC). According to the Rome Statue the ICC will not look into cases that have been reviewed by the local judiciary as long as they were genuine. In fact the Rome Statue encourages national courts to take the leading role on the matter.

But this concept of complementarity in ICC statue has been widely misunderstood by many people including the so called legal experts who filled Arab talk shows over the past week. The impression they gave to the audience is that if Sudanese courts were to look into any cases of Darfur war crimes then ICC will automatically lose jurisdiction.

First of all in order to invoke a challenge to the admissibility of a case based on complementarity, Sudan must challenge it before the ICC judges. By doing so, Sudan will have in effect accepted the jurisdiction of the world court. Thus if the ICC rejected the challenge to its jurisdiction submitted by Khartoum, the Sudanese government cannot go back to claim that it does not recognize the ICC. This will only make matters worse for Khartoum.

Second, how can Sudan try war criminals when its laws do not contain any provisions for war crimes or crimes against humanity? This in itself is a poison pill and will make it hard for ICC judges to buy any national proceedings inside Sudan. Also the immunity bestowed by Sudanese laws on military commanders and government officials is another obstacle.

..... Moreover, if a special court is indeed created in an African country, who will be willing to pay its expenses? I highly doubt that it will be the Arab countries given their reluctance to pay for African troops in Darfur all these years. The regional court proposal was submitted by Nigeria prior to the referral by the UN Security Council (UNSC) of the Darfur case to the ICC and even Sudan rejected it. Many countries thought it would be a waste of money to create a special court while a permanent court already exists.

On the other side the victims and the witnesses must have a say on the venue of the trials. They will most likely reject anything but the ICC. Obviously their safety cannot be guaranteed in Sudan or any other African countries for which they have little trust in...."

ii. "Why ICC prosecutor went for President Bashir," Nation Media, 20 July 2008

http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=25&newsid=127698

"On Monday, Mr Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the unflappable Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, applied for an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Bashir for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in Darfur.

The fact that Mr Bashir would be the first sitting head of state to be charged by the ICC demonstrates the repugnancy of the atrocities he has committed against black Africans.

When the court issues the arrest warrant - which I hope and think it will - President Bashir must be haunted and hunted by every state until he stands at the dock at The Hague in The Netherlands, the seat of the court.

....The charges against him [referring to Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir] are so horrendous that only the oil-hungry Chinese and the impervious Russians - the two major powers that don't even pay lip service to human rights - are willing to see black Africans killed like animals.

But the Chinese are in a real fix. Should the court issue an arrest warrant while the Olympics are going on, Beijing would have to shut up.

Besides, Mr Bashir would not be the first big fish to go before an international tribunal.

Mr Saddam Hussein, Iraq's former ruler, went before the flawed International Criminal Tribunal for Iraq and was executed.

Mr Slobodan Milosevic, termed the Butcher of the Balkans, cheated justice when he died in custody before his trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia ended.

The point is that there are no good endings for heads of state indicted by international tribunals. Not one who is committing genocide in the glare of TV cameras..."

iii. "ICC has become Africa's court," Gulf News, 22 July 2008

http://www.gulfnews.com/opinion/columns/world/10230774.html

By Linda S. Heard, Special to Gulf News

"When the International Criminal Court (ICC) came into being in July 2002 at The Hague, it was greeted by most fair-minded people as the guardian for the world's conscience. At last the oppressed and the victimised would have a voice and everyone on the planet, no matter how powerful, would be held to account for crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide. That was the idea anyway.

The reality has turned out to be very different. Firstly, three of the planet's most influential nations - the US, India and China - refused the court's jurisdiction citing potential infringement of sovereignty issues or fears that states would manipulate the court according to their own geo-political agenda. Nevertheless, with a 106-strong nation membership, it was hoped that the ICC would be credible and impartial.

Six years on and what do we find? The court is wholly focused on Africa. Innocent people are being deprived of liberty, starved, bombed and tortured all over the place yet unless the perpetrators happen to be African one could be forgiven for believing they are immune to prosecution..."

iv. "ICC must not have double standards," by Akbar Godi,The New Vision (Uganda), 22 July 2008

http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/459/640472

"Beleaguered Sudanese President Omar Hassan el-Bashir may become the first sitting African head of state to be charged with war crimes in the International Criminal Court (ICC). Former Liberian president Charles Taylor was only arrested after bowing to international pressure to step down.

The United Nations Security Council resolution 1593 of March 2005 stated that justice and accountability are critical to achieve lasting peace and security in Darfur. However, analysts continue to doubt the sincerity of the court. Are crimes against humanity only committed by leaders of poor countries? The Security Council sent a team to investigate weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and found none. Britain and America invaded Iraq without a UN resolution to back their military action on a sovereign state. People died during the war to oust president Saddam Hussein and they are still dying to date. If the UN describes the Darfur crisis as a humanitarian crisis, which other English word can best describe what is in happening in Afghanistan and Iraq? The ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo should strive to make the court acceptable across the globe and stop it from being used as a re-colonisation tool. African leaders should join hands to solve the Darfur crisis. Indicting Bashir and his generals or ministers may aggravate the problem. If Bashir is indicted, what guarantee is there that his colleagues in the Great Lakes region will survive ICC? They may be indicted over the collapse of the state in Somalia, military campaigns in the DRC, the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and massacres in northern Uganda. The Security Council has powers to pass a resolution suspending an ICC arrest warrant or inquiry. They better do that to save Sudan from collapse..."

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CICC's policy on the referral and prosecution of situations before the ICC:

The Coalition for the ICC is not an organ of the court. The CICC is an independent NGO movement dedicated to the establishment of the International Criminal Court as a fair, effective, and independent international organization.
The Coalition will continue to provide the most up-to-date information about the ICC and to help coordinate global action to effectively implement the Rome Statute of the ICC. The Coalition will also endeavour to respond to basic queries and to raise awareness about the ICC's trigger mechanisms and procedures, as they develop. The Coalition as a whole, and its secretariat, do not endorse or promote specific investigations or prosecutions or take a position on situations before the ICC. However, individual CICC members may endorse referrals, provide legal and other support on investigations, or develop partnerships with local and other organizations in the course of their efforts.

Communications to the ICC can be sent to:

ICC
P.O. box 19519
2500 CM the Hague
The Netherlands