IRTE, Libya (Reuters) – African Union heads of state voted yesterday not to cooperate with the International Criminal Court in its indictment of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.
“(The African Union) decides that in view of the fact that a request of the African Union (to defer al Bashir’s indictment) has never been acted upon, the AU member states shall not cooperate pursuant to the provisions of Article 98 of the Rome Statute of the ICC relating to … the arrest and surrender of Sudanese President Omar al Bashir to the ICC,” a text of the resolution obtained by Reuters said.
Two delegates told Reuters the resolution had been adopted by the AU heads of state summit.
War crimes
The 53-member organisation wants a deferment of the indictment over war crimes carried out during fighting in Sudan’s Darfur region, saying the warrant for Bashir’s arrest compromises peace efforts in Darfur.
Reed Brody, legal counsel for New-York based Human Rights Watch, told reporters at the summit: “This is going to give … comfort to a man who is accused of some of the worst crimes of our time.
However, he said it was not clear what practical effect the resolution would have because 30 African countries have signed up to the ICC and remain legally obliged to arrest Bashir if he visits.
Sudan said today its president was now free to travel across Africa.
“The president is free to travel anywhere in Africa, including those countries that have ratified the ICC’s Rome statute,” said Sudan’s foreign ministry spokesman Ali al-Sadig.
Bashir did not attend the inauguration of South African President Jacob Zuma in May, amid reports Pretoria had warned Khartoum that the Sudanese leader could be arrested.
The spokesman said he thought the African Union’s decisions were immediately binding on members, so Bashir would not have to wait for further approval from the parliaments of each state.
Rights group Amnesty International criticised the AU vote, saying it undermined the credibility of the 53-member body.
“This decision by the African Union member states shows a disdain for those in Darfur who suffered gross human rights violation and makes a mockery of the AU as an international body,” said Amnesty Africa director Erwin van der Borght.
8 thoughts on “African ‘Union’ thieves vote not to back al-Bashir’s indictment”
“Birds of the same feather floak together” the majority of them already anti people inhuman organized reckless criminal human rights violaters, killing, impoverishing, dehumanizing, displacing, etc. while robbing the wretched nations day and night and enriching themselves beyond imagination.
The african people in close collaboration with the democratic world as well as global humanitarian and human rights organizations need to fight for their natural rights by all means possible at all times and places. These power holding mass killer cannibals dressed with human faces need to face justice sooner than later.
What do you expect from a bunch of corrupt, subservient baboons?
AU, as an organization has no mandate to overrun the ICC indictment conducted under UN mandate. Only UN can turn this decision and that will never happen.
30+ African nations are ICC signatories and each state has to decide with in its own, not under AU. For Instance Botswana said on 5 July, she will co-operate with ICC.
AU is no longer relevant. It is now officially becoming the Arab league Toilet. Many AU members including Black Africans such as Sudan, Mali, Niger, Mauritania, Senegal and so on are members of the Arab league, thinking they are Arabs rather than being Blacks. Shame.
Can you imagine a Sudanese look like person thinks he is the same race with the Arabs like those from Syria, Jordan and elsewhere? It is the same like a black man is saying I’m naturally a white man. Even in this case it can be possible because many blacks and whites are playing, learning, understanding, respecting, working and living together with peace, unity and harmony. But it is impossible between blacks and Arabs. The Arabs see the Blacks as Slaves and they never treat them as equal. The Arabs are the worst racist ever back then and today, too. The Arab man can marry a black woman as one of the wives. But, they don’t allow an Arab woman to marry a black man. Yet, Dark countries like Sudan likes to be called as Arabs. That is why they are implementing the Arabs agenda in Africa against the black Africans. They have brainwashed them to forget/confuse who really they are. The Sudanese that are seeking to be called as Arabs have the highest inferiority complex on earth.
The Africans and the world know that. Bashir is doing this to serve the Arabs implementing their long term agenda in Africa including in Darfur, southern Sudan, Gordofa, Abeyi, Neyala, North Eastern Sudan (Beja) and elsewhere in the country. That is why the Arabs are using the AU which is the weakest organization on earth, to implement their agenda, including by not co operating with ICC or anything that is against their interest in Africa. Oil money that is coming like flood from the oil drinker west is serving them this way while affecting the Black Africans. .
There is no doubt, Basir will be in the ICC prison. It might take day(s), months(s) or year(s). But for sure he will face justice for the crimes he is committing against the Innocent Sudanese and Neighbors by allying with cruel individuals like meles Zenawi (his best friend with crime against humanity). The only difference is that basher don’t like the Sudanese while he has no hate the country-Sudan(Black). While Meles is a champion both of them. He hates the Ethiopian people and Ethiopia.
u know why the african dictators do not cooperate with icc, they themselvs are criminals. if u look the ethiopian case, it makes u sad. the meles regime and his cliques had washed their hand with blood of ethiopian people.i think the time that they will go to court will not be far. we all have to fight for freedom.
one ethiopia for ever
It is not that I necessarily support Al Bashir, but I abhore the double standard the ICC applies ONLY to countries whom the US and the west don’t care for. So, by extention, I despise the ICC.
the african thief and crime leaders ignor ICC resolution. thats why they are all criminal and washes their hand with inocent people blood they dont want toget like sudanise criminal man problem
5# Weqaw
Double standardism may not be the perfect standard but it is even much more better than No standardism and cannibalistic medieval inhuman brutal anarchy such as those being practiced by those medieval style savage African mass killers and mass dehumanizers of “their own people.”
If you are waiting for a perfect world where a perfect standardism is being practiced by perefect people, then you need to be waiting to the planet end just like the biblical MANA and the second coming of Jesus Christ with out ever seeing your dreams come true.
Remember also the fact that all the International Humaniterian and Human Rights organizations are actively wanting that these pathological mass killers face justice as soon as possible. You should not stand up to be counted within the camps of those gone mad pathological killers like Beshir and Meles unless you are one of them, of course.
So, I humbly suggest that you with hold your over flowing bitterness, fold up your shirt sleeves and try to get behind bars as many of all those gone mad pathological brutal mass killers and the days for the rest will surely come to pass one by one. :)
ICC has a huge role to play in Africa. Perhaps it is not recognized yet, but give it some time. Africa needs justice and punishment to make things right. Human lives are being wasted by the millions. ICC is the only hope for us. It is the hand of justice and it will prevail no matter. Africa seems to breed tyrants by the minute, and if the ICC does not face it no one will ever.
I am proud of the ICC and I may not be able to support it financially or physically, but morally I am 100% convinced that it is indeed a remedy for an ailing continent:>
More publicity needs to be made about its role in Africa and gain support from its public, bottom-up support…