Sudanese President mocks the I.C.C and its arrest warrant

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/24/world/africa/24sudan.html?_r=1&ref=world


Sudan’s President, Omar Hassan al-Bashir travelled to Eritrea on Monday, despite the fact that the I.C.C issued a warrant for his arrest almost three weeks ago on war crimes charges for atrocities committed in Darfur. It was Mr. Bashir’s first trip abroad since the court issued its warrant. Leaving Sudan puts him at greater risk of being arrested because the I.C.C’s guidelines state that the court’s 108 member states are obligated to arrest Mr. Bashir if enters into their countries.
The criminal court charged him with crimes against humanity for playing an essential role in the murder, rape and displacement of vast numbers of civilians in Darfur. Over than 2.5 million Darfur residents have been chased from their homes and as many as 300,000 have died in a conflict between the Arab-dominated government who fought against the non-Arab rebels. Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem, Sudan’s permanent representative to the United Nations said that Mr. Bashir would not change his international travel schedule. Mr. Bashir has scheduled another foreign visit, a trip next week to Qatar for an Arab League summit meeting. Mr. Bashir was offered an out by a senior panel of Sudanese religious scholars, though Sudan promised that he will attend.
The I.C.C is intended as a court of last resort, investigating and prosecuting only where national courts have failed. It deals with“the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole”. Therefore the war crimes Mr. Bashir is accused of are a serious matter and the enitire international community should concider these war crimes as such. Any country that Mr. Bashir sets foot on their soil should arrest him if given the chance.