Sudan frustrated by AU failure to withdraw from ICC

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir speaks during a press conference in Khartoum late on September 22, 2013 where he hit out at the US for seeking to deny him a permit to the UN General Assembly.

Sudan has expressed its frustration over the failure by the African Union Summit to withdraw from the International Criminal Court.

The summit meeting which ended on Saturday has agreed on a resolution stating that no sitting African head of state should appear before an international court.

The AU had discussed withdrawing from the ICC, but failed to get support.

“The AU summit decision did not meet our aspirations of withdrawing from this neocolonialism tool, but it’s a positive step towards the right decision,” Sudanese foreign affairs minister Ali Karti told journalists in Khartoum on Saturday upon the arrival of the Sudanese delegation that participated in Addis Ababa summit.

“The summit has delegated to demand the ICC to freeze the arrest warrant against President Omar Bashir, but we have nothing to do with this appeal to the ICC by the African leaders, because our declared stance is not to cooperate with the ICC and not to deal with it,” the minister said.
“The absence of the signatories’ countries from the meetings has weakened the movements towards the withdrawal,” he added.

ICC faces accusations from African leaders of targeting only Africans.

The court currently has two high profile cases against Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir and Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, including his deputy William Ruto.

The AU has previously called on its members not to cooperate with the ICC, and has asked the UN Security Council to suspend the Kenyan and Sudanese cases.

The AU has also asked the court to allow Libya to try its own citizens within its territory.