19 Mar Sudan to ICC: Buzz Off!
According to the AP, Sudan announced yesterday that it will suspend all cooperation with the International Criminal Court following that the ICC prosecutor’s charges of war crimes against a Sudan government minister.
“We had extended our cooperation with the ICC for some time, but now the situation is completely different,” Justice Minister Mohammed Ali al-Mardi told The Associated Press on the telephone from Geneva, where he was attending a U.N. Human Rights Council meeting.
“It’s not even a question of cooperation anymore, it’s a question that they (the ICC) want to try Sudanese citizens, which is absolutely nonsensical,” the justice minister said.
One doubts that ICC investigative teams will gain entry into Sudan anytime in the near future. Sudan has thrown down the gauntlet: it will ignore the ICC and thwart its investigations. What is the ICC’s response? I think it is time to bring in the U.N. Security Council. Here is a perfect opportunity for the international system to demonstrate its ability to deal with humanitarian crises and vicious destabilizing conflicts. But will it do anything? Don’t bet on it.
I just want to echo Julian’s claim that it’s time for the Security Council to intervene on behalf of the ICC. Sudan’s intransigence puts it in direct violation of Resolution 1593, which provides, in paragraph 2, that “the Government of Sudan and all other parties to the conflict in Darfur, shall cooperate fully with and provide any necessary assistance to the Court and the Prosecutor pursuant to this resolution.”
Whether the Security Council will enforce its resolution, of course, remains to be seen. Like Julian, I’m skeptical.
The Security Council will take no action as China will block any, by veto if necessary.