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Darfur Part III: President Al-Bashir in Qatar; UNSG Ban Ki-Moon Confronts Sudanese President; OIC Supports Al-Bashir; Sudanese Envoy to Visit Moscow; Analysis and Editorials; CICC Pace Quoted

03 Apr 2009

Dear all,

This is the third of a four-part message regarding the International Criminal Court's investigation in Darfur, Sudan, with a focus on the 4 March arrest warrant for Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir, president of Sudan, for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

This message contains information on President Al-Bashir visit to Qatar, to participate in the Arab League Summit (I); UNSG Ban Ki-Moon confronted Sudanese President in Doha (II); the Organization of the Islamic Conferece supported Al-Bashir (III); the Sudanese Envoy to visit Moscow to discuss the arrest warrant (IV); and analysis and editorials, including one by The Times (UK) quoting CICC's Convenor William R. Pace(V).

We encourage you to participate in our blog discussion on Darfur by visiting www.coalitionfortheicc.org/ blog

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.

Regards,

CICC Secretariat
[email protected]

************

I. AL BASHIR VISITS QATAR FOR SUMMIT IN DOHA: PLENARY OF THE ARAB LEAGUE

i. "Jordan dissents from Arab position on ICC warrant for Sudan's Bashir," Sudan Tribune, 23 March 2009,
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article30619

"The Jordanian government reiterated that it will fulfill its obligations under the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court (ICC) despite the arrest warrant for Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir.

Jordan is one of three Arab states along with Djibouti and Comoros Island which are members of the ICC. Hypothetically each of these countries are required to apprehend Bashir if he arrives on their territory.

However officials from Djibouti and Comoros Island told the London based Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper that they have no attention of arrest Bashir despite being signatories to the Rome Statute...."

ii. "Sudanese President Criticizes UN Security Council, ICC," Voice of America, 30 March 2009, http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-03-30-voa28.cfm

"Sudan's president has slammed the United Nations Security Council for asking the International Criminal Court to open an investigation into war crimes in the Darfur region.

Speaking at the opening of the Arab League summit in Doha Monday, Omar al-Bashir accused the Security Council of corruption. He also called for the ICC to freeze its arrest warrant against him, and to annul the warrant's legal consequences.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad also urged Arab leaders in Doha to reject the warrant for Mr. Bashir, who is accused of war crimes.

Earlier at the summit, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the security situation in Darfur volatile. He said he remains extremely concerned about Sudan's decision to expel aid agencies from the area, as local ministries are still unable to fill the gap...."

iii. "Sudan's Beshir at Arab summit as rifts simmer," AFP, 30 March 2009,
http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidANA20090330T012505ZRNO77

"Arab leaders meet in Qatar on Monday for their annual summit in the presence of Sudan's President Omar al-Beshir, defying an international warrant for his arrest over Darfur, but hopes of healing Arab rifts dimmed when Egypt's Hosni Mubarak decided to stay at home.

Sixteen heads of state from the 22-member Arab League are expected to attend the two-day gathering, as is UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. According to a draft statement obtained by AFP, the Arab leaders are expected to adopt a Saudi-sponsored resolution urging 'dialogue and consultation in solving Arab differences.'

..... Arab foreign ministers approved a draft declaration on Saturday urging the International Criminal Court to annul all its measures against Beshir and calling upon all Arab states to reject the ICC ruling...."

iv. "Sudan's Beshir urges Arabs to reject ICC warrant," AFP, 30 March 2009, http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ja0IKQFC2ackw83yf61UIDJsz5OA

"Sudanese leader Omar al-Beshir, defying an international arrest warrant by participating in the annual Arab summit in Qatar, Monday urged Arab leaders to strongly reject his indictment.

Beshir already enjoys strong backing from Arab countries who have repeatedly denounced the arrest warrant issued on March 4 by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over alleged war crimes in Darfur.

Addressing the summit, Beshir called on fellow leaders to issue 'strong and clear decisions rejecting this decision, and demanding those who fabricated it to annul it.'

Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, whose country passed Monday the presidency of the Arab League summit to Qatar, echoed calls to support Beshir against the ICC...."

v. "Defying International Criminal Court, Arab Leaders Welcome Sudan's President," CNS News, 30 March 2009, http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=45790

"U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday was scheduled to address a gathering of Arab leaders despite the presence of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, whose participation in the meeting in Qatar is in defiance of an international arrest warrant.

Bashir's visit to the Gulf state for the two-day Arab League summit is his fourth foreign trip since the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on March 4 formally accused him of war crimes and crimes against humanity in his country's Darfur region, issuing its first arrest warrant for a presiding head of state.

The governments that have hosted him - Eritrea, Egypt, Libya and now Qatar - oppose the ICC warrant as does the 22-member Arab League, although three of its members, Jordan, Djibouti and Comoros, are parties to the convention that established the ICC, the Rome Statute...."

vi. "Sudan's wanted president arrives at Arab summit," AP (Via Google), 29 March 2009, http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gwHRs7seOCi_k_H65JtOtPsAsmMAD977NOOG0

"Sudan's president, who is sought by an international court on charges of war crimes in Darfur, has arrived in Qatar to attend this week's Arab League summit.

President Omar al-Bashir was greeted warmly by Qatar's emir in a red-carpet welcome at Doha's airport on Sunday. He later had coffee with the emir and the head of the Arab League. The summit begins Monday...."

vii. "Arab League throws support behind Sudan's Bashir," Deutsche Welle, 31 March 2009, http://www.dw-world.de/dw/function/0,,12215_cid_4142008,00.html?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf

"The Arab League, at its annual conference in Qatar, has expressed its support for Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir. The 22 members of the group said an international arrest warrant against Bashir for alleged war crimes in Darfur was unjustified. The International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague issued the warrant several weeks ago following repeated complaints by aid groups and international observers that the Sudanese government was conducting ethnic cleansing in the country's war-torn Darfur region. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon sharply criticized Bashir at the summit for expelling aid organizations from Sudan in response to the arrest warrant..."

See also:
1. "Sudan's wanted president welcomed at Arab summit," AP (Via Washington Times),
29 March 2009,
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/mar/29/sudans-wanted-president-welcomed-at-arab-summit-1/
2. "Arab summit rejects arrest warrant for Bashir," Xinhua, 31 March 2009, http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-03/31/content_11103109.htm
3. "Arab leaders back 'wanted' Bashir," BBC News, 30 March 2009, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7971624.stm

II. FIDH LETTER TO ARAB LEADERS AT SUMMIT

"Sudan: FIDH letter to the Arab leaders in view of the Arab Summit to be held in Doha," FIDH, 24 March 2009, http://www.fidh.org/Sudan-FIDH-letter-to-the-Arab

"We address you, and through you, the ordinary summit of the League of Arab States convening on March 30, 2009, inDoha, Qatar, aware of the weight of the issues on your agenda and the important decisions awaited by the peoples of the Arab region, at the heart of which is the humanitarian situation in Darfur, particularly in light of the recent decision made by the International Criminal Court concerning Mr. Omar Al Bashir, President of Sudan.

The decision of the Pre-Trial Chamber (I) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue a warrant of arrest in the right of the Sudanese president Omar Al Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity comes only after the judges have ascertained the existence of sufficient evidence to confirm the group of crimes said to be committed in Darfur, as presented by the Prosecutor General. These crimes, according to the statistics of the United Nations, have claimed the lives of 300,000 causalities and displaced over 2.5 million of the citizens of Darfur. The issuance of the arrest warrant against the Sudanese president comes as a strong expression of solidarity with millions of victims who suffered the plight of systematic violations during the ravaging war in Darfur since 2003. The warrant also reflects the importance of combating the culture of impunity; a dire need in the Arab region. We have witnessed in this regard several positive instances promoting international justice, such as the request made by the Palestinian Authority to the ICC to investigate the crimes committed in Gaza. This opportunity is taken to encourage such positive steps towards justice and ask the member states of the Arab League to ratify the Rome Statute, the constitutive statute of the ICC.

As you convene your Summit, with the arrest warrant of the Sudanese President outstanding in your agenda, you are aware more than others that the recent decision made by the ICC did not come from vacuum, nor does it only reveal the principles, values and mechanisms of justice that humanity has achieved in order to prevent crimes that chill the hearts and bodies..... "


III. UNSG CONFRONTS AL-BASHIR ON EXPULSIONS

1. "U.N. chief finds Sudan president supporters loyal," AP, 31 March 2009,
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=13&articleid=20090331_13_A6_KingAb356475

"The U.N. chief confronted Sudan's embattled president Monday with demands to allow the return of expelled aid groups to Darfur - and was met with a defiant response as Arab leaders rallied to Omar al-Bashir's side to formally reject international war crime charges against him.

The Arab League declaration is likely to boost al-Bashir's willingness to challenge the West and flaunt his wide support among Arabs in opposing the arrest order by the International Criminal Court.

Al-Bashir's attendance among other Arab leaders was his boldest public snub of the ICC's decision, bringing him to the same conference hall as U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for the summit's opening speeches. Ban's spokeswoman, Michele Montas, said the two men were in the same room, but did not speak...."

IV. MORE SUDANESE REACTION TO WARRANT

i. "INTERVIEW: SPLM Secretary General says Bashir should cooperate with Hague court," Sudan Tribune, 29 March 2009,
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article30693

"Pa'gan Amum Okiech, the Secretary General of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), said Saturday that President Omer Al-Bashir should cooperate with the International Criminal Court, which is seeking the president's arrest on seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Amum, who holds the highest political post in the SPLM besides that of the chairman, is visiting Washington this week with Foreign Minister Deng Alor.

He is known for having taken hard-line positions against the National Congress Party (NCP) of Al-Bashir, in the past criticizing the party for committing genocide and displacing millions of Sudanese. In January when he told reporters that NCP should cooperate with the ICC on a legal basis, some observers in Khartoum told Sudan Tribune that his remarks implied a division within the SPLM leadership.

(....) S[UDAN] T[RIBUNE]: As to the ICC, part of the official position of the SPLM is that Al-Bashir should cooperate with the court, but what specifically does that mean?

[ANSWER]: Our advice before the indictment was - and that goes back again to the first indictment of Minister Ahmed Haroun and the militia commander called Kosheib - that the best course of action for the Sudan and for the National Congress is to cooperate legally with the ICC, that is to say repute the case and challenge the legality of the jurisdiction of the court itself and deal with this matter legally.

S[UDAN] T[RIBUNE]: But not actually at The Hague?
[ANSWER]: Yes - even at The Hague. Send lawyers defending the government of Sudan and the president or whoever is accused. And now just before the indictment decision we advised the president to cooperate with the court but also to deal with the issue of the indictment with restraint and wisdom and avoid any escalation of the situation, avoid confrontation with the international community - that was our advice to them.

ii. "Sudan's Al-Mahdi backs ICC's indictment of Al-Bashir over Darfur - paper," Al-Hayat, 28 March 2009, [Link not available]

"Al-Sadiq al-Mahdi, former Sudanese prime minister and leader of the opposition Ummah Party, has affirmed that the UN Security Council would not agree to suspend the arrest warrant against President Umar al-Bashir without Khartoum presenting 'an internationally acceptable deal.' Khartoum should propose measures to bring the perpetrators of the war crimes in Darfur to trial, establish peace in the region, establish comprehensive and just peace in the country, and hold democratic elections....

.... In an interview with Al-Hayat, Al-Mahdi praised the establishment of the International Criminal Court [ICC], maintaining that this was a 'commendable development in international law, which we have been seeking for a long time, because dictators do to their peoples what they want without being held accountable. The ICC now holds the perpetrators of such crimes accountable.'..."

iii. "Sudan to incorporate war crimes into penal code per Arab request," Sudan Tribune, 16 March 2009,
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article30525

"The Sudanese justice minister Abdel-Basit Sabdarat said that the national assembly will soon meet to endorse changes to the criminal law that will incorporate war crimes into the penal code.

'The Sudanese parliament will convene next April to expedite the prosecution war crime suspects in Darfur" Sabdarat told the London based Al-Sharq Al-Awsat from the Egyptian capital.

'That does not mean we fear the International Criminal Court (ICC) but Sudan is doing what it can to ensure justice' he added.

Sudan has insisted that it genuinely looking into right abuses since Darfur conflict broke out in 2003. However many observers and human right groups say that Khartoum is not serious about prosecuting war crime suspects...."

V. ORGANIZATION OF THE ISLAMIC CONFERENCE SUPPORTS AL-BASHIR

"OIC asks ICC and UN Security Council to Cancel ICC Decision against President of the Republic," SUNA, 29 March 2009, http://www.sol-sd.com/news/117/ARTICLE/3408/2009-03-29.html

"The Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) has asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to cancel its unjust decision against the Sudanese leadership and urged the UN Security Council to take the necessary measures to stop the move permanently.

This came during an emergency meeting of the OIC Executive Committee which was held Friday evening in New York at the level of the permanent envoys under the chairmanship of Senegal to review the repercussions of the ICC allegations against the President of the Republic.

The Executive Committee issued a statement rejecting the ICC decision, describing it as unacceptable, saying that it does not only target peace and stability in Sudan but also in the whole area.

The statement denounced the decision, rejecting the selectivity and double standards, indicating that the move undermines the political process in Sudan and efforts of national reconciliation, stressing the importance of respect of Sudan's sovereignty and territorial integrity and non-interference in its internal affairs. The statement also reiterated the OIC confidence in Sudan's judiciary, adding that the country was a victim of foreign interventions and double standards policy...."

VI. RUSSIAN REACTION

"Sudan envoy to visit Moscow to discuss al-Bashir arrest warrant," Ria Novosti,
31 March 2009,
http://en.rian.ru/world/20090331/120835447.html

"The special envoy for the leader of Sudan will arrive in Moscow on a two-day visit on April 2 to discuss President Omar al-Bashir's arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, as well as Sudanese-Russian relations.

Russia has joined Arab countries in criticizing the arrest warrant for al-Bashir, who faces charges of war crimes in committed in Darfur, saying the ongoing dispute threatens to harm relations between the West and the Arab world.

Envoy Awad Ahmed al-Jaz, who is also Sudan's finance minister, is expected to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Mikhail Margelov, who heads the Federation Council's foreign affairs committee and is the president's special representative on Sudan.

The envoy will also deliver a message from President al-Bashir to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev...."


VII. ANALYSIS AND EDITORIALS

i. "Catch me if you can," The Economist, 28 March 2009,
http://www.economist.com/world/mideast-africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13395465

"Omar Al-Bashir certainly gets around. In defiance of the arrest warrant for war crimes issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on March 4th, the Sudanese president has spent the past week jetting about northern Africa. He visited Eritrea, Egypt and Libya and was planning a trip to Ethiopia. Having called on some of his neighbours, he is making up his mind whether to attend a summit of the Arab League in Qatar on Monday March 30th.

..... For now the ICC is putting on a brave face. Speaking to al-Jazeera television the court's chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, retorted that Mr Bashir's trip is "a sign of desperation rather than a challenge to the ICC". In fact the trip demonstrates the enormous difficulty faced by the court in getting those indicted into the dock.

Within Sudan Mr Bashir faces no threat of arrest. In Khartoum, the capital, people prefer to avoid talking in public about the indictment of the president. When pressed, a typical response is no more than a resigned shrug of the shoulders. A few dissidents explain that after two decades of military rule, it is time for Mr Bashir to go. Those more sympathetic to Mr Bashir, notably in government and business, suggest that the warrant is part of a broad American conspiracy to steal resources (mainly oil) from Sudan. For them, the president's wanderings are welcome evidence of his thumbing his nose at the court.

Beyond Sudan Mr Bashir is slightly more at risk, but he has designed his tour with care. Eritrea, Egypt, Ethiopia and Libya have all failed to sign up to the ICC and thus they have no direct obligation to nab Mr Bashir (although any member of the United Nations is expected to co-operate with the court). The African Union and the Arab League, of which they are variously members, have both called for the arrest warrant to be deferred, arguing that it will destabilise Sudan....."

ii. "Why is it O.K. for Arabs to Kill Their Own?," Middle East Times, 31 March 2009, http://www.metimes.com/Editorial/2009/03/31/why_is_it_ok_for_arabs_to_kill_their_own/4648/

"The Arab League has some real problems. There are the usual ones in Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Mauritania, Somalia, Morocco (Western Sahara), Yemen; and the economic woes of Egypt, and Dubai to a lesser extent. For sure, the Arab League faces some serious PR issues.

An Arab summit allows the leaders of this uneasy part of the world to address some of the planet's most urgent topics. Prime among them is the burning issue of Palestine, over which the Arab world has been fighting with Israel in one manner or another for the past 60 years, and counting.

..... So what does the Arab League choose to address on the opening day of their summit meeting? They choose to support a leader who has been indicted by the international community on charges of committing genocide against his own people: Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir.

Why is it all right for Arabs to kill their own while the rest of the Arab word remains quiet?

Why does the Arab League not take the lead in promoting the defense of human rights in the Arab world?

Why does the Arab League not create an independent body under its auspices that would have the responsibility of pointing out human right abuses, attacks against civil liberties and attempts to muffle the press?..."

iii. "Often Split, Arab Leaders Unite for Sudan's Chief," New York Times, 30 March 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/world/africa/31arab.html?_r=2&hp

"Arab leaders may be divided over which Palestinian faction to support and what to do about Iran's rising influence, but they have found one cause to rally around: protecting the president of Sudan from charges that he orchestrated the rape, killing and widespread pillaging in Darfur.

Arab leaders gathered for their annual summit meeting in Doha, Qatar, on Monday, hoping to patch over their many differences. But they had little trouble agreeing to an effusive embrace of Omar Hassan al-Bashir, the president of Sudan, who was indicted by the International Criminal Court this month for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The court also issued a warrant for his arrest.

The emir of Qatar, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, greeted Mr. Bashir at the airport with a red carpet treatment, a warm embrace and a kiss on the cheek. Even before the meeting began, Amr Moussa, the secretary general of the Arab League, said the member states would 'continue our efforts to halt the implementation of the warrant.'

Arab leaders have closed ranks around a fellow head of state in the face of pressure from the West and condemnation from human rights groups around the world. They have argued that the International Criminal Court compromised Sudan's sovereignty. Their supporters said the court's action revealed the West's double standard in dealing with Arabs by indicting Mr. Bashir while taking no action against what they saw as war crimes committed by Israel during its offensive in Gaza. They added that the indictment undermined efforts at bringing about a negotiated settlement by inflaming the situation...."

iv. "Faintheartedness", Le Monde editorial, 1 April 2009, http://www.lemonde.fr/opinions/article/2009/03/31/pusillanimite_1174687_3232.html (in French)

"The Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir knows how to act brave. Now that he is a wanted man by the ICC, he is more widely traveled than ever before. Less than one week after a warrant was issued for his arrest, he visited Eritrea, Egypt, Lybia and last Sunday, Qatar. In Doha, where he has enjoyed a red carpet reception, participants at the Arab League Summit rejected the ICC's call for his arrest.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Mooon was present for the Summit. The Secretary-General did not reject the possibility of meeting with the fugitive president and this reinforced the notion that Bashir remained worthy of an association. Ultimately, however, the meeting never took place and Ban Ki-Moon called on Sudan to allow expelled humanitarian workers to return to Darfur. But instead of calling on states to cooperate with the Court in accordance with UNSC Resolution 1593, the UN Secretary General merely called on them to 'reduce tensions.'

This faintheartedness is the symptom of a paralysis of international justice defenders, including Europeans, who are confronted with a discourse that makes victims of perpetrators and perpetrators of those who seek to uphold the law. The ICC was called 'racist' by the president of the UN General Assembly because the Court has so far only requested the arrest of Africans. But would it not be racist for the Court to deny justice to African victims?

The Lybian leader Gadhafi, who heads the AU, said that the ICC is responsible for 'new world terrorism' in service of 'recolonization' by western powers. This neglects the fact that the ICC treaty has been signed by 139 out of 192 UN members. The judges who indicted Al-Bashir were from Ghana, Latvia and Brazil.

Acting partly out of the need to safeguard their own impunity, AU leaders and the Arab League are trying to convince the UNSC to suspend proceedings against their Sudanese counterpart. In the face of these outrageous attacks and in the absence of its own police force, the ICC must now rely on the support of states that created this institution. These states are now strangely quiet. But the defiance of Al-Bashir does not disguise the fact that he remains a fugitive in his own country. International justice is ultimately patient and persistent: Milosevic and Taylor learned at their expense..."

NOTE: Informal translation by the CICC.

v. "Unity of a kind," The Economist, 2 April 2009,
http://www.economist.com/world/mideast-africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13415515

"Since its founding in 1945, the Arab League, now embracing 22 countries (including Palestine), has sought to forge unity. Yet its annual summits have tended to produce either quarrels or platitudes. The latest gathering in the Qatari capital, Doha, followed much the same pattern but did produce unity-of a sort. Independent Arab commentators, as opposed to the state-controlled media, were united in calling it a waste of time.

.... With 17 heads of state in attendance, the meeting did agree on one thing, however. Fellow Arab leaders rallied around Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, in a chorus of condemnation against the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which has ordered his arrest on charges of organising the extermination, rape and forcible transfer of a large part of the civilian population of Darfur. Delegates denounced the court for picking on Arab and Muslim leaders while ignoring the alleged crimes of Israel. Syria's president, Bashar Assad, said the court had no right to interfere in countries' sovereign affairs-an understandable complaint, as a UN tribunal is investigating Syria's likely involvement in a series of political murders in Lebanon.
But the summiteers skirted issues that have lately divided them. The Arab leaders said little about Iran, the non-Arab regional heavyweight allied to Syria but regarded with suspicion by other Arab leaders because of its nuclear ambitions, its championing of Islam's minority Shia branch, and its backing for non-state actors such as Hizbullah in Lebanon and Hamas in Palestine...."

vi. "World court under threat as President al-Bashir of Sudan defies warrant," The Times UK, 2 April 2009 http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article6018508.ece

"Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese President, made a pilgrimage to Mecca yesterday, threatening the credibility of the International Criminal Court, which has issued a warrant for his arrest. Mr al-Bashir's journey to Saudi Arabia was his most daring act of defiance since he became the first sitting head of state to be named a fugitive from international justice last month and the court's highest-profile target.

The court, designed to dispense justice based on the premise that there are universal moral standards that apply to all human behaviour, wants Mr al-Bashir to face trial for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Sudanese region of Darfur.

While the 108 member nations that signed up to support the International Criminal Court (ICC) have a duty to arrest him, Mr al-Bashir has visited five countries since the warrant was issued - all non-ICC members - as he tries to polarise views against the court by portraying it as a vehicle for Western interference in Arab and African nations.

....Embarrassingly Ban Ki Moon, the United Nations Secretary-General, was also at the summit and in the same room as Mr al-Bashir, though he was careful to avoid any contact. The UN set up the process that led to the creation of the court under the Rome statute of 1998.

Mr al-Bashir's visit to Mecca, a short distance from Qatar, was said by the Saudi press agency to be a minor pilgrimage known as omra, in which he met officials from the Grand Mosque. The trip may help Mr al-

Bashir cement support throughout the wider Islamic world, further eroding the court's authority.

....'He probably has a great deal to ask forgiveness for, if that is one of the purposes of going to Mecca,' said Bill Pace, chairman of the coalition. 'It is too early to say if the recognition by the Arab governments of Mr al-Bashir will hurt the ICC more than it will hurt the reputation of the Arab League and governments.'

'It was expected that an arrest warrant for a sitting head of state would create tremendous controversy, and not only in the Arab world, but wherever leaders have fear of justice.'

It is in Africa, where Mr al-Bashir has visited his neighbours Egypt, Eritrea and Libya, where fears are most acute that one of the continent's 33 signatories to the ICC will withdraw. The AU, representing 53 countries on the continent, pressured the ICC to delay issuing its arrest warrant against Mr al-Bashir for at least a year to avoid jeopardising the Sudanese peace process....."

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

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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 endeavor 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.
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