Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir (centre), Congo's President Denis Sasso-Nguesso (right) and Prime Minister of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Abdelkader Taleb Oumar (left) p at the 25th African Union Summit in South Africa on June 14, 2015. The US government has appealed to South Africa to help apprehend Bashir and hand him to the ICC. AFP PHOTO | GIANLUIGI GUERCIA
Monday, June 15, 2015
The United States government has expressed “deep concern” over the travel of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir's to South Africa for the African Union summit.
Department of State Spokesperson John Kirby on Sunday night said the Obama administration was appealing to the South African government to support efforts by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to apprehend Mr Bashir.
President Bashir has been indicted by the ICC on charges of crimes against humanity and genocide, and warrants for his arrest remain outstanding.
“While the United States is not a party to the Rome Statute, which sets out the crimes falling within the jurisdiction of the ICC, we strongly support international efforts to hold accountable those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes,” he said.
“In light of the atrocities in Darfur, we call on the government of South Africa to support the international community's efforts to provide justice for the victims of these heinous crimes,” he added.
On Sunday, a South African court issued a temporarily barred President Bashir from leaving the country.
President Bashir mostly travels to countries that have not joined the ICC, but South Africa is a signatory to the court’s statutes.
COURT ORDER
On Sunday, the Pretoria High Court said in a statement it was “compelling respondents to prevent President Omar al-Bashir from the leaving the country until an order is made in this Court.”
“South Africa has an obligation to arrest him.”
“Failure to do so puts them in the same bracket as other African regimes who have no respect for human rights. It’s actually a test for South Africa,” Johannesburg-based rights lawyer Gabriel Shumba told AFP.
A South African government official at the summit confirmed media reports that Bashir was at the meeting, but declined to give further details.
“There’s no point denying it now,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The summit is chaired by Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe, who has urged African leaders to pull out of the ICC, which critics accuse of unfairly targeting Africa.
In a statement, the ICC called on South Africa “to spare no effort in ensuring the execution of the arrest warrants” against Mr Bashir.
Darfur erupted into conflict in 2003 when insurgents mounted a campaign against Bashir’s government, complaining their region was politically and economically marginalised.
According to the United Nations, more than 300,000 people have been killed in the conflict and fighting has forced some 2.5 million people to flee their homes.
Khartoum, however, disputes the figures, estimating the death toll at no more than 10,000.