On Tuesday, March 3, 2006, the International Criminal Court (ICC), issued international arrest warrant for the President of Sudan, the warrant was issued for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The arrest warrant was immediately met with defiance by, President Omar al Bashir, and his government denounced the warrant, claiming it was only a ploy of Western nations to destabilize the oil-rich states south of Egypt.
The Leadership of the political parties and organizations including the trade unions, the businessmen, artists, media men, sport leadership, sophists sects, women and youth, have reaffirmed their rejection for any attempt seeking to undermine the Sudan and its National Sovereignty in the person of the President of the Republic.
The representatives of the various sectors have pointed out in the meeting with the President of the republic field marshal Omar al Bashir that the decision of the ICC against the head of the state was but another ring of the plots and conspiracies that target the Sudan people, its unity and territorial integrity. (Sudanese Embassy, Washington, DC)
President Bashir’s denunciation was immediately followed by protesters who swarmed the streets; Bashir himself took the opportunity to drive through the streets rallying his supporters.
But disdain and defiance were not the only things that have spread through the conflict ridden country as disease and hunger are now tightening their strangle hold on the already strained and desperate civilians displaced by the genocide that continues to plague Sudan, as some 300,000 people have died and 2.7 million have fled their homes.
The true harm of the warrant has not befallen up on President but the millions who have been displaced by the conflict and, or are relying on aid to survive . The devastating reaction has now led to 13 aid agencies being expelled from Sudan, the fallout from these harsh actions will put millions in danger of starvation and disease, those most at risk being women and children. The effects could extend beyond Sudan and potentially cripple the region.
We also have to be concerned at the possible implications this could have more broadly in the region. Our experience shows that when vulnerable populations are unable to get the help they need, they go elsewhere in search of protection and assistance. If food can’t get through to people, for example, then those people will soon suffer and have to look elsewhere.
With some 4.7 million Sudanese – including 2.7 million internally displaced – already receiving assistance in Darfur, we are very concerned over the prospect of new population movements in the region should the fragile aid lifeline inside Sudan be disrupted. There are also 40,000 Chadian refugees in West Darfur. (UNHCR)
The current situation in Sudan has left many questioning both the validity and power of the ICC and its hold on governments and criminals of war. However most have been left questioning whether the ICC guise of power over states is nothing less than harmful.
The reality of the ICC is far from that of a powerhouse of force regarding international law and justice. The catch 22 of the ICC is that while true and heinous the crimes are, the punishment is more often then not met with disdain and defiance, leaving those victimized by the accused actions hanging in the balance and targets for further violence, only to continually be revictimized.
In Uganda Joseph Kony, the leader of a rebel group that calls itself the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), who’s hold over an army of child soldiers continues despite his ICC arrest warrant. Kony too has meet the charges with opposition and disdaine, event holding-up peace talks demanding that his warrant be lifted. As long as an international warrant sits on Kony’s head, he will never surrender, or disarm. Kony will instead continue his rampant path of violence leading child soldier after child soldier into conflict and strife. Now it looks like al-Bashir and Sudan too will follow in this path of utter defiance and continue to lead their countries in conflict at a cost only civilians will pay.
For more on the ICC warrant see, Information concerning “ICC issues a warrant of arrest for Omar Al Bashir, President of Sudan”
Enough Project – WHAT THE WARRANT MEANS: JUSTICE, PEACE, AND THE KEY ACTORS IN SUDAN
Think Twice on Bashir by Paul Stares in Newsweek
After Indictment, Sudan Holds Its Breath
Sudan’s Fractured Internal Politics
Genocide Intervention Network (GI-NET) issued a joint statement with notable human rights groups welcoming the decision and noted that it presents both challenges and opportunities.
