Sudan’s Bashir rushes home from Nigeria after calls for his arrest
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July 15, 2013 (WASHINGTON) - The Sudanese president Omer Hassan
al-Bashir returned home abruptly before the conclusion of the HIV
summit that took place in the Nigerian capital of Abuja amid
controversy over his attendance.
JPEG - 22.6 kb
Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir listens during a meeting with
his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak (unseen) in Cairo on February
22, 2009 (AFP)
A Sudanese diplomat who would not give his name told The Associated
Press that Bashir left at 3 p.m. Monday, less than 24 hours after he
arrived and in the middle of a two-day summit which ends on Tuesday.
But he denied that Bashir’s hasty departure was related to demands for
his arrest.
Another Sudanese diplomat attributed Bashir’s sudden departure to
other engagements.
"He has left. He left in the afternoon (on Monday)," Mohammed Moiz,
spokesman for the Sudanese embassy in Nigeria, told Agence France
Presse (AFP) but gave no further details on the other engagement.
The Nigeria Coalition on the International Criminal Court (NCICC)
issued a statement today condemning the government for hosting the
Sudanese leader who is wanted by the ICC in connection with war crimes
committed in Darfur.
NCICC said that Nigeria’s failure to arrest Bashir “will be a brazen
disregard of its international treaty obligation under Article 89 of
the Rome Statute of the ICC which it has ratified since 2001”.
“Such failure also undermines the pursuit of international justice,
peace and security which are the objectives of the ICC” the group
said.
The group also revealed that it has filed a suit at the federal high
court Abuja seeking a domestic arrest warrant for Bashir.
“The judiciary in this country has the responsibility to implement
legal obligations created by treaties undertaken by Nigeria. As a
state party to the Rome statute of the ICC, Nigeria is under legal
obligation to execute within its national jurisdiction the arrest
warrants issued by the trial chamber of the ICC against Mr Al Bashir
while in its national territory”.
The British government also released a statement expressing
disappointment at Nigeria.
“The UK has a strong and abiding bilateral relationship with Nigeria.
I am therefore disappointed that Nigeria has chosen to host President
Al Bashir of Sudan at an African Union event, despite International
Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants against him for alleged war
crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. This undermines the work
of the ICC and sends the victims a dismaying message that the
accountability they are waiting for will be delayed further,” said the
UK Foreign Office Minister for Africa, Mark Simmonds
Abuja defended its decision to host Bashir saying it is abiding by AU
decisions that instructs members not to cooperate with ICC in
executing the warrant against the Sudanese president.
The minister of health Bahr Idriss Abu Garda, who accompanied Bashir
to the summit, described the summit as a success adding that Sudan has
played a crucial role with regards to establishing a roadmap to
protect HIV positive individuals and simplifying efforts to combat the
virus, as well as including Malaria and Tuberculosis.
He went on to say that resolutions issued in previous summits have
been reaffirmed such as linking healthcare to development.
(ST)
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