HRW urges Chad to arrest Sudan President Bashir

The President of the Republic of Sudan, Omer Al Bashir, arrived in N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, on Friday evening to take part in the African Great Green Wall Summit, which is scheduled to begin on Saturday.He was received by the President of Chad, Idriss Deby, a number of Chadian ministers and senior officials, as well as the Sudanese Ambassador, the staff of Sudanese Embassy and representatives of the Sudanese community in Chad, Sudan News Agency SUNA reports.The delegation accompanying the President includes the Minister of Presidential Affairs Gen Bakri Hassan Salih, Minister of Environment and Urban Development Dr Hassan Abdul-Gadir Hilal, Chairman of Security and Intelligence Gen Mohamed Attal-Moula, and the State Minister for Foreign Affairs Salah Wansi.Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned Bashir’s trip to Chad. “This would represent the fourth time Chad has welcomed the International Criminal Court (ICC) fugitive, Sudanese president Al Bashir. Chad’s hosting him is an insult to victims. He should be arrested, not welcomed in Chad”, said HRW senior international justice counsel Elise Keppler in a statement to Sudan Tribune.In April, HRW urged Chad to arrest the Sudanese Defence Minister Abdel-Rahim Mohamed Hussein. The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Hussein in 2012 on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Darfur, where he served as the representative of the Sudanese president in 2004, one year after the start of the conflict.The HRW appeal to Chad coincided with Hussein’s trip to a recent conference in N’Djamena; apparently the first time since the ICC warrant that he had travelled abroad.In terms of international law, as a signatory of the Rome Statute, the document that established the ICC, Chad is legally bound to arrest any suspects indicted by the ICC who are within its territory.File photo: Omar Al Bashir Related: New cooperation agreements adopted in Sudan-Chad troops summit (26 April 2013)

The President of the Republic of Sudan, Omer Al Bashir, arrived in N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, on Friday evening to take part in the African Great Green Wall Summit, which is scheduled to begin on Saturday.

He was received by the President of Chad, Idriss Deby, a number of Chadian ministers and senior officials, as well as the Sudanese Ambassador, the staff of Sudanese Embassy and representatives of the Sudanese community in Chad, Sudan News Agency SUNA reports.

The delegation accompanying the President includes the Minister of Presidential Affairs Gen Bakri Hassan Salih, Minister of Environment and Urban Development Dr Hassan Abdul-Gadir Hilal, Chairman of Security and Intelligence Gen Mohamed Attal-Moula, and the State Minister for Foreign Affairs Salah Wansi.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned Bashir’s trip to Chad. “This would represent the fourth time Chad has welcomed the International Criminal Court (ICC) fugitive, Sudanese president Al Bashir. Chad’s hosting him is an insult to victims. He should be arrested, not welcomed in Chad”, said HRW senior international justice counsel Elise Keppler in a statement to Sudan Tribune.

In April, HRW urged Chad to arrest the Sudanese Defence Minister Abdel-Rahim Mohamed Hussein. The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Hussein in 2012 on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Darfur, where he served as the representative of the Sudanese president in 2004, one year after the start of the conflict.

The HRW appeal to Chad coincided with Hussein’s trip to a recent conference in N’Djamena; apparently the first time since the ICC warrant that he had travelled abroad.

In terms of international law, as a signatory of the Rome Statute, the document that established the ICC, Chad is legally bound to arrest any suspects indicted by the ICC who are within its territory.

File photo: Omar Al Bashir

Related: New cooperation agreements adopted in Sudan-Chad troops summit (26 April 2013)