Sudanese President face charges of war crimes

By Cindy Witten
05 March 2009


South African Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma has noted the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant against the President of Sudan Omar Al- Bashir. The ICC in The Hague has charged Al-Bashir with genocide.

Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa quoted Dlamini Zuma saying that South Africa has never tolerated any acts of impunity.

“However, South Africa supported the decision of the African Union to defend the issue of the warrant of arrest against President Al-Bashir of a year, to give the peace processes in Sudan a chance,” he said.

“In this regard and in patience of this objective, the African Union summit held in Addis Ababa recently appointed South Africa’s former President Thabo Mbeki to intercede between the ICC and Sudan,” Mamoepa added.

South Africa’s stance on the decision of the ICC is that it agrees with the African Unions initial response, in that the ICC’s decision is regrettable and it is believed that this decision will impact negatively on the peace processes in Sudan.