Sudan accuses ICC of playing "proxy political foe"
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December 12, 2013 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese government again dismissed
the latest report of the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor
Fatou Bensouda before the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and
reiterated its position of not dealing with the Hague-based court.
JPEG - 39.6 kb
Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Fatou Bensouda,
addresses the United Nations Security Council December 11, 2013 (UN
Photo)
Bensouda lambasted the UNSC on Wednesday for failing to effect and
enforce its resolution 1593 taken in 2005 which referred the situation
in Darfur to the ICC.
“The time has come for this Council and States Parties to seriously
devise strategies for arresting those alleged to be responsible for
these crimes,” she said in her semi-annual report to the UNSC.
The ICC has issued arrest warrants for the Sudanese president Omer
Hassan al-Bashir, Defense minister Abdel-Rahim Mohamed Hussein, North
Kordofan governor Ahmed Haroun and militia leader Ali Kushayb.
Khartoum rejects jurisdiction of the ICC asserting it is not party to
the Rome Statute which is the founding treaty of the court.
Bashir and Hussein have managed to travel relatively freely even to
ICC members since the warrants which charges them with orchestrating
war crimes in Sudan’s western region of Darfur.
The ICC judges’ notifications to the UNSC of non-compliance by state
parties on the warrants received no action by the council which drew a
strong rebuke by Bensouda.
“This Council’s silence even when notified of clear failures and/or
violations by UN Member States of their obligations to comply with
this Council’s resolutions only serves to add insult to the plight of
Darfur’s victims,” she told the 15-member body.
“This is the only way to stop the seemingly endless suffering of the
Darfur victims,” Bensouda said, calling it a “serious indictment on
this Council and on States Parties” that those indicted are able to
show “blatant disregard” for the UNSC by travelling without fearing
arrest.
"Alleged perpetrators of serious crimes against the civilian
population will continue to commit crimes unless they are brought to
justice," she said. "It is now up to this council and to the states
parties to heed the cries of the millions of victims of crimes which
continue unabated in Darfur".
But Sudan’s UN ambassador Dafalla al-Haj Osman accused the ICC of
playing a "proxy political foe" and said that the prosecution is
getting info from unknown or biased sources.
He also rapped Bensouda’s remarks calling it "authoritative, as if
giving instructions to the UNSC".
Osman noted the African position on the ICC as shown in last October’s
summit adding that the continent has lost faith in the court.
(ST)
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