Khartoum to obey International Criminal Court: we do not want confrontation with the Security Council
Sudan-UN, Politics, 6/8/2005

Khartoum on Tuesday lessened its opposition to the Sudanese mission for the International Criminal Court, when the Sudanese foreign minister Mustafa Othman Ismael announced that Khartoum will assume by itself investigations in the crime of killing, rape, and burning of villages in Darfur district to the west of Khartoum.

He stressed that it is not in his country's agenda to get into a challenge with the UN Security Council on the international investigation.

Ismael said after his meeting with the Indian prime minister Manmohan Sing in New Deli "for us, the statement of the International Criminal Court and the current steps are still preliminary. They are technical and procedural steps."

Ismael added "we will study it carefully and it is not on Sudan's agenda to enter into confrontation with the UN Security Council and it is still in our assessment that Rome's law will allow the Sudanese government the opportunity to carry out its duty in the course of the UN Security Council. Our legal advisor also said that the resolutions can be implemented within the concepts of the Sudanese judiciary."

However, Rome's constituent law, according to which the International Criminal Court was established, states that any suspected criminal is to be tried before a fair national court that enjoys credibility, else he should not be brought before the international criminal court which takes the Hague as a headquarters.

Ismael indicated that "no body asked us to hand over any person, our position that no one should be excluded and that any person who had committed crimes in Darfur should be brought before the justice." He said "we are on our way to establish a special court with special measures inside Sudan to carry out that."

Previous Stories:
  International Criminal Court opens investigation into Darfur   (6/6/2005)
  Annan in southern Sudan, discusses UN support with Garang   (5/30/2005)
  UN accuses Darfur rebels of obstructing peace efforts   (5/26/2005)

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