(DW) – International Criminal Court (ICC) judges have issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir over alleged atrocities in Sudan’s western Darfur province. It is the first time that the Hague-based war crimes tribunal has sought the detention of a serving head of state.

The court alleged that al-Bashir commited five counts of crimes against humanity, including murder, torture and rape, as well as two counts of war crimes. No charges were filed on genocide. The Sudanese leader has denied all charges.

The United Nations estimates that 300,000 people have died and more than 2.2 million have fled their homes since rebels in Darfur rose up against the Khartoum government in February 2003.

US urges ‘restraint’ in Sudan after Beshir warrant

(AFP) — The US State Department called on Wednesday for “restraint” from all groups in Sudan, after an arrest warrant was issued for President Omar al-Beshir for war crimes in Darfur.

“The United States believes that those who have committed atrocities should be brought to justice as the ICC (International Criminal Court) process continues,” State Department spokesman Robert Wood said.

“We urge restraint on the part of all parties including the government of Sudan. Further violence against civilian Sudanese or foreign interests must be avoided and will not be tolerated.”

He added that Washington was “determined to pursue an immediate ceasefire and a long-term peace in the region,” in a statement to journalists during US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s first official visit to the Middle East.

The State Department also said the US would continue to help the Sudanese people and support UN efforts to end the conflict.

“The United States will continue to support efforts to ease the suffering of the Sudanese people and to promote a just and durable peace,” it said in a statement in Washington.

Convincing evidence needed to charge al-Bashir with genocide

(DPA) Amsterdam – The International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague on Wednesday, did not include a count of genocide against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for alleged atrocities in Darfur as had been widely expected.

The ICC listed only five counts of crimes against humanity and two of war crimes, but left the door open for amendments to the charge sheet to include genocide if more evidence is gathered in the case against him.

Speaking after the ICC announcement in The Hague on Wednesday, a Dutch expert on Sudan and the United Nations said it was never going to be easy to bring a charge of genocide against al-Bashir.

Genocide is the most serious charge in international law, requiring convincing and unequivocal evidence, said Dick Leurdijk of Clingendael Institute for International Relations and Diplomacy in The Hague.

“Apparently the evidence ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo presented the court was insufficient to substantiate this allegation,” Leurdijk said.

“Former US secretary of state Colin Powell was the first to refer to a “genocide” in Darfur in September 2004,” he added.

“But the European Union and the United Nations always consistently refrained from using that term. They may have been proven right by the court today,” Leurdijk said.

However, he did not exclude the possibility that the charges against al-Bashir could actually be amended at a later stage.

Leurdijk said it was “too bad” that Moreno-Ocampo did not explain why Sudan would be obliged under international law to arrest al- Bashir even on its own territory.

“After all, Sudan has not recognized the authority of the International Criminal Court,” he noted said.

“The ICC was established through political negotiations, not on the basis of a UN Security Council resolution like the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia,” he said.

Amnesty International Says Sudanese President Must Surrender to Face Trial

In reaction to today’s decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al Bashir on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes, Amnesty International said that President al Bashir must surrender himself immediately to face trial.

“The law is clear. President al Bashir must appear before the ICC to defend himself. If he refuses to do so, the Sudanese authorities must ensure that he is arrested and surrendered immediately to the ICC,” said Irene Khan, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.

Today’s arrest warrant for the Sudanese head of state is an unprecedented move in the history of a conflict that has seen more than 300,000 killed, thousands raped, and millions forcibly displaced.

Amnesty International USA Executive Director Larry Cox said: “For years, the government of President al Bashir has subjected the people of Darfur to horrific human rights abuses. Hundreds of thousands of Sudanese have been slaughtered, starved, tortured, torn from their homes, or otherwise savagely punished and abused. Civilians were attacked, killed or uprooted by the very people meant to protect them. Under international law, these are crimes that require that al Bashir be prosecuted.”

Amnesty International said that should President al Bashir leave Sudan, the government of any country in which he finds himself has an obligation to deny him safe haven by arresting him immediately as a fugitive from justice and surrendering him to the ICC.

“No one is above the law. If you are charged with a crime, you must stand up and face those charges in a court of law. President al Bashir will have the opportunity to do this before the International Criminal Court,” said Irene Khan.

Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 2.2 million supporters, activists and volunteers in more than 150 countries campaigning for human rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied.