After days of wrangling to try and have him arrested the Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir, left South Africa before a court here could decide whether to arrest him. The International Criminal Court has been trying for years, to have al-Bashir apprehended since charging him with the commission of atrocities against civilians in Darfur, which resulted in the deaths of over 300 thousand people. He has flouted the ICC’s arrest warrant since it was issued in 2009, blithely travelling throughout Africa and the Middle East despite a United Nations Security Council resolution that requires all states to co-operate with the ICC. There were some signs that this time, things might be different. As soon as he arrived in Johannesburg, the South African Litigation Centre submitted an urgent request for his arrest, and ICC judge Cano Tarfusseremphasized that there was “no ambiguity or uncertainty” to this obligation – something of which the South African authorities were already well aware. To help us unpack this issue, we are now joined on the line by:
Professor ShadrackGutto: Legal Academic Professor based at the University of South Africa
Angela Mudukuti :Lawyer at The Southern African Litigation Centre
Netsanet Belay, Amnesty International's Research and Advocacy Director