Ethiopia, Egypt call to suspend ICC case against Sudan’s Bashir

Addis Ababa, June 9, 2017 (FBC) – Ethiopian and Egyptian diplomats have called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to suspend the investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir.

In a report to the Security Council on the situation in Darfur on Thursday, the ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, urged the 15-member body to take concrete action that would help to arrest suspects of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur.

The Ethiopian Ambassador to the United Nations Tekeda Alemu cited the disappointment of African countries by the manner in which the Court had been operating.

Also, Ambassador Tekeda reiterated the African Union’s request for the Court to end its pursuit of a case against the Sudanese president and called to finding home-grown solutions.

He added that the African Union “was convinced that the referral of the situation in Darfur to the Court would cause more harm than good while seriously undermining ongoing efforts to resolve the conflict”.

On the ongoing efforts to end the conflict in Darfur, he said peace process had shown significant progress, but more remained to be done.

“The Council should do its part, including by exerting pressure on armed movements to put an end to the suffering of the people of Darfur,” he said and called on the rebel groups to lay down their arms.

Egypt’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Amr Abdellatif Aboulatta, said the ICC proceedings against al-Bashir lust be suspended.

“The Court must be careful not to jeopardise peace and security on the African continent,” he said.

The African Union had called for the withdrawal of Darfur-related matters and had expressed concern that the Security Council had not responded to that request.