International Criminal Court Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has asked the court to issue an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir. Bashir is the most senior member pursued by the court and one of few sitting heads of state ever charged by an international court. Bashir is accused of organizing genocide in Sudan. Sudanese forces and the militia they support have killed up to 35,000 people and forced 2.5 million to flee their homes. Sudan is not a member of the court and denies there is genocide.
The real test now is political, as Sudan will seek to have its allies such as Russia and China block the issuance of the warrant.
On a personal note, having successfully represented a Sudanese man obtain asylum after he watched his father murdered and then was shot himself just for being "black Africans," I hope that Bashir and his cronies are all brought to justice.
Monday, July 14, 2008
ICC Prosecutor Seeks Arrest of Sudan's al-Bashir
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2 comments:
Seems like the African Union and the Arab League are doing their utmost to stall any movement forward with this.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/22/world/africa/22briefs-AFRICANNATIO_BRF.html?_r=1&ref=africa&oref=slogin
http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL231021822.html
I, too, know many Sudanese refugees who have suffered under the atrocities of this regime and await the day that Bashir pay for the unthinkable crimes he has committed against the Sudanese people.
Do you think the court will be able to carry out the indictments with the opposition of the African Union, the Arab League, and the "concerns" of China and Russia?
Excellent question. Sudan is trying to raise as much support as it can right now. They a surprising amount of allies who may be able to convince the Security Council to postpone the warrant for a year or so under the guise of "benefiting the peace process." There's no telling what sort of deals Sudan is willing to make with Russia and China to buy their support.
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