Articles and Analysies
Why Sudan Opposes the ICC Decision by Salama Tagani
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Jul 18, 2008 - 7:58:45 AM

Why Sudan Opposes the ICC Decision

Sudan is not part of Rome Statute and hence the Court has no jurisdiction over the situation in Darfur. According to Rome Statute, the role of the Court is complementary and is not a substitute to national proceedings.

 The Security Council resolution 1593 (2005) reads, as follows:

a.    Also encourages the Court, as appropriate and in accordance with the Rome Statute, to support international cooperation with domestic efforts to promote the rule of law, protect human rights and combat impunity in Darfur;.

b. Also emphasizes the need to promote healing and reconciliation and encourages in this respect the creation of institutions, involving all sectors of Sudanese society, such as truth and/or reconciliation commissions, in order to complement judicial processes and thereby reinforce the efforts to restore long-lasting peace, with African Union and international support as necessary;

 During the deliberations to adopt the resolution, some of the    African Union member states had appealed to the Council to consider the proposal made by H.E. President Olusegun Obasanjo on behalf of the AU, based on the need to secure peace without sacrificing the need for justice.

 Based on these realities we think that the ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo is pushing very hard to jeopardize stability and disintegrate our country. The former US diplomat disclosed a recent meeting he had with Ocampo in which he tried to convince him of this point of view with no success. In the meeting the ICC prosecutor stressed that his duty is to do justice and cannot be part of diplomatic initiatives on Darfur. This is the reason why Sudanese of all walks of life stand up against Ocampo�s ill-conceived move to indict President Al Bashir.