By Tamara Alfred
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa
THE HAGUE, Netherlands – The International Criminal Court (ICC) took a major step forward as Cape Verde became the latest Member State to accede to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC which prosecutes individuals for genocide, crimes again humanity and war crimes.
The Statute will take effect for Cape Verde on 1 January 2012, bringing the total number of states party to the ICC to 119.
The ICC President, Judge Sang-Hyun Song, welcomed Cape Verde into the tribunal system, saying: “As the first Lusophone country in Africa to ratify the Rome Statute, Cape Verde has not only demonstrated its commitment to international criminal justice but also taken us one step further towards a truly universal system of the Rome Statute, representative of all peoples, cultures and legal systems of the world.”
And yet, the ICC suffered a blow when Malawi rejected calls to arrest visiting Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted for war crimes in Darfur.
Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika ignored the outcry at his hosting of Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir as he opened a regional trade summit Friday.
Bashir is the first sitting president indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued a warrant in 2008 for his arrest on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Sudan’s Darfur region.
Bashir was among six heads of state at the meeting of the 19-member Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), despite calls from the European Union and international rights groups for Malawi to arrest him.
The trade talks, however, have been overshadowed by the uproar over Bashir’s visit.
Malawi is a signatory to the ICC, but senior officials told the media that Bashir would not be arrested. Malawi’s Information Minister Patricia Kaliati told the BBC it was not her government’s “business” to arrest Bashir.
President Mutharika made no mention of Bashir as he opened the summit. Recently, Mutharika has become a staunch critic of the ICC, according to the BBC’s Joel Nkhoma. Mutharika accuses the court of unfairly targeting African leaders and believes that Africa should set up its own court to try alleged war criminals. Several other African countries have also refused to arrest Bashir and the African Union has urged the UN to suspend the arrest warrant.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton urged Malawi to arrest Bashir, noting the country’s “obligations under international law to comply with the International Criminal Court.”
For more information, please see:
BBC News – Omar al-Bashir arrest request rejected by Malawi – 14 October 2011
AFP – Malawi ignores outcry at Bashir visit for trade summit – 13 October 2011
UN News Centre – Cape Verde ratifies treaty setting up International Criminal Court – 13 October 2011
