By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch, Asia
BEIJING, China – Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir arrived in Beijing on July 5 following an unexpected delay for a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao which was initially scheduled to take place on July 4.
Indictments by the International Criminal Court against Bashir have made Beijing’s invitation to the Sudanese leader controversial and has led to condemnation by several rights groups including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Because China is not a member of the International Criminal Court, the country was not obligated to arrest Bashir once he presented himself in the country.
The International Criminal Court has indicted Bashir on charges of genocide for the mass killings that have occurred in the Darfur region of Sudan since the leader’s rise to office in 1993.
Richard Dicker, the director of Human Rights Watch’s international justice program stated that “Bashir’s flouting of international arrest warrants should be cause for condemnation, not for an invitation.”
Chinese President Hu Jintao reportedly invited Bashir to China to increase cooperation between the two nations and “exchange views on Sudan’s ongoing north-south peace process and the Darfur issue.”
Bashir’s visit comes just before the secession of South Sudan from the North which is expected to occur at midnight on July 9.
For more information, please see:
CNN – Sudanese Leader’s Visit Emphasizes China’s African Agenda – 29 June 2011
L.A. Times – Confusion as Sudan President Arrives Day Late in Beijing – 28 June 2011
Aljazeera – Bashir Visits China Ahead of S Sudan Split – 27 June 2011
