Tag Archives: UN

Today the International Criminal Courts (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Omar Hassan Al-Bashir, President of Sudan, for crimes related to Darfur.The indictment did not include genocide but did list murder, rape, forcible transfer, torture, pillaging, attacks on civilians, and extermination. It is possible that genocide could be added to the charges if more evidence becomes available. The move is largely just symbolic since Sudan is refusing to give up Al-Bashir and the courts authority is quite limited. Since the inception of the ICC in 2002, the court has only pursued cases in Africa and has only just began its first trial in January against former Congolese Warlord Thomas Lubanga.  Al-Bashir is the first sitting head of state to be charged by the ICC and while he may not be standing trial anytime soon some hope that the case will change the dynamics of Sudanese politics. Chris Hall of Amnesty International said,

“You have a President of your country who is subject to an international arrest warrant, a fugitive from justice, and the implications for the country will be enormous. My guess is that there will be some very serious thinking among the senior members of the Cabinet about whether Sudan would be better off enforcing the arrest warrant.”

It will be interesting to see if the action by the ICC causes any noticeable difference to the millions of displaced people and those still in the Darfur region of Sudan. While it would be nice to see Sudan turn over a new left, I think it is far more likely that this move by the ICC and through association the UN will cause an escalation in the violence in the region.