AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA
PRESS RELEASE
October 16, 2009
Amnesty International Says Uganda Must Arrest Sudanese President and Hand Him Over to International Criminal Court
President al Bashir Due to Travel to Uganda Monday for African Union Summit
Contact: Suzanne Trimel, 212-633-4150, strimel@aiusa.org
(New York) -- Amnesty International expressed outrage today over Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s invitation to Sudanese President Omar al Bashir to attend a special African Union summit Monday in Kampala. The human rights organization said the Ugandan government has a legal obligation to arrest President Bashir and hand him over to the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
The invitation was reportedly issued in a statement made on Wednesday, October 14 during which President Yoweri Museveni indicated to reporters that President Bashir would not be arrested and surrendered to the International Criminal Court (ICC) upon his arrival in Uganda. Bashir was invited to attend an African Union summit on refugees, returnees and internally displaced persons in Africa.
“President al Bashir is a fugitive from international justice – charged with responsibility for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur,” said Christopher Keith Hall, senior legal adviser with Amnesty International’s International Justice Project.
“The Ugandan government has an obligation to arrest President al Bashir and hand him over to the ICC should he enter Ugandan territory.”
An arrest warrant for President al Bashir was issued by the ICC on March 4, 2009.
Uganda is a state party to the treaty establishing the ICC and is obliged without exception to cooperate with the ICC and arrest and surrender anyone named in an arrest warrant to the ICC. If it fails to do so, the ICC can refer this clear violation of Uganda's obligations to the Assembly of States Parties, the ICC oversight body.
Hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have lost their lives since the Darfur conflict erupted in February 2003. Widespread human rights abuses have occurred, including killing, torture, rape, looting and destroying of property by all parties involved in the conflict, but primarily by the Sudanese government and government-backed Janjawid militia. Over 2.5 million civilians have been internally displaced by the conflict and more than 260,000 have sought refuge in neighboring Chad.
Background:
- Since the ICC issued the arrest warrant in March 2009, President al Bashir has visited seven states (Eritrea, Egypt, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe), none of which are parties to the ICC treaty.
- Although the African Union has urged states not to cooperate with the ICC in enforcing this arrest warrant, several states parties to the ICC treaty, including Botswana, Brazil and South Africa, have indicated that they would meet their legal obligations and arrest him if were to enter their countries.
Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 2.2 million supporters, activists and volunteers in more than 150 countries campaigning for human rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied.
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