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ICC deputy prosecutor calls on leaders to end support for Bashir

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

[JURIST] Deputy International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has called on world leaders to end all support for Sudanese president and war crimes suspect Omar al-Bashir, according to a Monday report by the Associated Press. Bashir has come under increasing international pressure to comply with the ICC's warrant for his arrest and to retract a ban on several aid agencies  operating in Sudan that he imposed after the warrant was issued. Despite these calls, many African countries and the League of Arab States have continued to support  Bashir, calling on the UN Security Council to exercise its power to suspend the charges against Bashir. Bensouda said Bashir's actions since the warrant was issued have made the humanitarian situation in the Sudan worse. Last month, ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said that Bashir's decision to expel the groups demonstrates that the ICC was justified in pursuing the charges against him. Bashir has also threatened to expel any remaining agencies, diplomats, and peacekeepers in Sudan. Human rights and other groups have previously urged Bashir to allow the agencies to remain in the country, and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights spokesman Rupert Colville has said that his office may investigate whether Sudan's removal of the groups itself is a possible breach of human rights law or a war crime.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on April 07, 2009 (boomark / email).