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African Union to seek delay of Bashir ICC indictment

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The African Union (AU) agreed Monday to seek a postponement of the pending International Criminal Court (ICC) indictment against Sudan President Omar al-Bashir, citing concerns over a possible threat to the peace process in Sudan. Meeting at the 12th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopa, the AU's Peace and Security Council agreed to lobby the ICC for a one-year suspension of the case. AU Commission Chairman Jean Ping expressed concern over the fact that ICC cases have been confined to the adjudication of war crimes and crimes against humanity only in African conflicts. ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo applied for an arrest warrant for Bashir in July, charging him with genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The warrant was condemned by the Arab League and criticized by South African President Thabo Mbeki. In December, ICC judges gave Moreno-Ocampo until January 26 to provide supplemental information about a September 2007 attack on an African Union base in Haskanita. The events at the ICC were preceded by a Security Council statement in June urging Sudan to work with the ICC to "put an end to impunity for the crimes committed in Darfur." Sudan is not a party to the ICC, but must cooperate to fulfill its obligations under Council Resolution 1593, which established jurisdiction over the Darfur situation. Hundreds of thousands of people have allegedly been killed in Darfur by Sudanese military and janjaweed militia forces.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on February 03, 2009 (boomark / email).