Sudan slams UN over calls for President Bashir's arrest

Sudan plans an inquiry into UN secretary-general spokesman's call for President Omar al-Bashir to be arrested and transferred to the ICC.

MENA

1 min read

The New Arab

31 March, 2017

President Omar al-Bashir has been an ICC fugitive since 2009 [AFP]

Sudan has hit back at the United Nations after the international body's secretariat-general reportedly called for President Omar al-Bashir to be arrested and handed over to the International Criminal Court.

Bashir is accused by the ICC of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, and has been a fugitive of the court since 2009.

Media reports alleged that Farhan Haq, a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, had called on Jordan to arrest Bashir during his recent trip there for the Arab League summit.

"We reject these statements [by the UN spokesmen]," Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour told reporters on Thursday.

"The UN has no mandate to talk about the ICC.

"Sudan is a UN member state and should enjoy all the rights of UN membership," Ghandour added, asserting that Sudan is not a member of the 1998 Rome Statute that the ICC derives its legitimacy from.

Sudan, Ghandour said, is planning an investigation "to determine why [Haq] said this and whether it represents an isolated incident or official UN policy".

He also accused the ICC of being biased against African leaders and acting "with a view to destabilising African states".