Wanted: Omar al-Bashir
International criminal court chief's prosecutor says Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir's destiny is to face justice
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Wednesday, 04, Mar 2009 06:13
Human rights campaigners and activists are demanding Omar al-Bashir surrender himself to the international criminal court to answer war crime charges in Darfur.
The Sudanese president has been issued with an arrest warrant by The Hague, making him a fugitive under United Nations security council resolution 1593 (2005).
He is charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes over the counterinsurgency launched in Darfur following a rebellion by the black African population against the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum.
Charges of genocide were dropped from the indictment, however.
At least 300,000 people have died since the conflict began in 2003, with more than two million displaced, according to the UN.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo, prosecutor of the ICC, said it was necessary to ensure Mr al-Bashir's appearance at The Hague to stop him destroying evidence and committing new crimes.
"The government of the Sudan is obliged under international law to execute the warrant of arrest on its territory, we are not calling for someone else to do it," he told journalists.
"If the government of the Sudan does not execute the warrant of arrest the UN security council will need to ensure compliance."
He explained that as soon as the Sudanese leader - who has expressed contempt for the ICC by calling on judges to "eat" their indictment - travelled through international airspace he could be arrested.
"Omar al-Bashir's destiny is to face justice," Mr Moreno-Ocampo said.
"It will be in two months or two years but he will face justice.
"With the arrest warrant it is time to protect the victims, it is time to stop bombing civilians, it is time to stop rapes, it is time to stop the crimes."
Amnesty International UK is urging Mr al-Bashir to surrender immediately.
The human rights group's senior legal adviser Christopher Keith Hall, describing the Sudanese president as a "fugitive from justice", said: "The law is clear. President al-Bashir must appear before the ICC to defend himself. If he refuses to do so, the Sudanese authorities must ensure that he is arrested and surrendered immediately to the ICC.
"This announcement is an important signal – both for Darfur and the rest of the world – that suspected human rights violators will face trial, no matter how powerful they are."
While the Sudanese constitution affords its head of state immunity from criminal prosecution while in office, there is no recognised international instrument that grants immunity for crimes against humanity or war crimes.
"No one is above the law," Mr Keith Hall continued. "If you are charged with a crime, you must stand up and face those charges in a court of law. President al-Bashir will have the opportunity to do this before the ICC."
As the ICC judges announced their decision, thousands of victims of the Darfur crisis had their names read out ahead of a minute's silence at 13:00 GMT at the Sudanese embassy in London.
Ishaq Mekki, humanitarian officer for Darfur Union, an umbrella group for Darfuri exiles living in UK, predicted that the Sudanese authorities would "make a lot of noise" about the charges being politically motivated.
"Amid that noise, just remember that on Bashir's watch, millions of Sudanese men, women and children have been driven from their homes, killed or raped in Darfur," he said.
"Not because they carry guns, but because of who they are. This is a matter of justice, not politics. And we, the survivors, know how desperately justice is needed."
Darfuri survivors have also been talking about the conflict, urging the ICC judges to issue a warrant for Mr al-Bashir's arrest.
"The rape and murder of the innocent is completely contrary to the tenets of Islam," said Nejwa Gabi Ahmed.
"It is contrary to basic principles of humanity. And it is a crime in international law. Would you accept it if your loved ones were the victims?
"Unless the perpetrators are brought to justice, and unless justice is seen to be done, there will never be peace and reconciliation in Darfur. And we, the exiled, will never be able to return to our homeland with peace in our hearts."
Darfur survivor Khatir Mohammed, general secretary of the Darfur Union, added: "A murder suspect is not let off the charges if he threatens to go out and kill more people. Nor should Omar Bashir, or any of those suspected of crimes against humanity in Darfur, be allowed to get off the hook by threatening peacekeepers, aid workers or our people in Sudan."