The International Criminal Court says South Africa should have arrested Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, wanted by the ICC for alleged war crimes, when he visited the country in 2015.
However, in a show of leniency, the court at The Hague, Netherlands, says it will not refer South Africa’s failure to comply with its obligations to the court’s governing body or the United Nations Security Council. It based that decision partly on South Africa’s effort to seek a ruling on the case in an effort of cooperation.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, center, flanked by Congo’s President Denis Sasso-Nguesso, right, and a Sahrawi representative, poses for a group photograph of leaders at the 25th African Union Summit in Sandton South Africa, June 14, 2015. (AFP/GIANLUIGI GUERCIA)
South Africa and other signatory countries have a legal obligation to arrest anyone sought by the ICC under the Rome Statute, the court’s founding treaty. Lawyers for South Africa had argued that the treaty does not oblige authorities to arrest heads of state of countries who are not members of the court, such as Sudan.
Bashir is indicted for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region. He was allowed to leave South Africa even though a local court ordered authorities to arrest him.
— AP
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