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Cairo, on Marsh 4th 2009
The Arab
Center for Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal
Profession (ACIJLP), expressed its satisfaction with the
decision of the Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International
Criminal Court, concerning Prosecution’s application of 14 July
2008 for the issuance of a warrant of arrest against the
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, on charges of war crimes and
crimes against humanity in the Darfur region since 2002,
resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of unarmed
civilians and the displacement of 2.700000 million more than
other people, according to the indictment issued by the Office
of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and the
United Nations.
The Center
also finds that the decision to arrest a Head of State, who is
still in power, is regarded as a termination of the stage
represented in using the diplomatic immunities as a way to hide,
and a beginning of a new stage where the diplomatic immunity
does not represent the protection of those accused of the most
serious crimes, such as war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The Center
confirms that the presence of the International Criminal Court
and the cooperation of the international community with its
mechanisms will reduce the culture of impunity, which was the
main victim of its proliferation is the basic human rights, and
the right to peace and security.
While the
Center welcomes the adoption of this resolution, it calls on the
Sudanese government, in fulfillment of its international
obligations and commitments as one of the States Parties to the
United Nations, to stand for criminal justice, and not to put
the political considerations above considerations of justice and
human rights. Furthermore, Sudanese government should cooperate
with the International Criminal Court by moving in the direction
of delivery of each Mr. - Ahmed Haroon, Mr. Kushayb and the
Sudanese President Omar Hasan Ahmad al-Bashir, to the
International Criminal Court.
The Center
calls upon the Sudanese government not to take the reactions of
retaliation, which would increase the suffering of the Sudanese
people in Darfur, committing new crimes, and to put the
priorities and interests of the Sudanese people and their rights
and fundamental freedoms, above all considerations.
The Center
calls upon the international community to support the role of
the International Criminal Court, and to activate and implement
its decisions regarding the prosecution of the accused persons
in the commission of crimes within its jurisdiction, and to
prosecute in a just and fair trial, in protection of human
rights and to put an end to impunity.
The Center
believes that this decision of the Pre-Trial Chamber I is a
positive step towards achieving the international criminal
justice and activating the role of international judicial
mechanisms to protect human rights; as the trails of the
International Criminal Court restrict to the international
standards for fair and just trials to the accused of crimes
falling within the scope of its jurisdiction on one hand, and
ensure that sentences are to protect the rights of the victims
on the other hand. |
