ICC warrant 'could ruin peace'
2008-07-14 17:31
Addis Ababa - The AU voiced concern on Monday that a request by the International Criminal Court's top prosecutor for an arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir could undermine peace efforts in the country.
"The AU's position is that nothing should be done that might jeopardise the peace processes in Sudan," said El-Ghassim Wane, spokesperson for the AU commission, the pan-African organisation's main executive body.
"Consultations are under way for an emergency meeting of the peace and security council to be held probably in Addis Ababa at a ministerial level," he told AFP.
Wane added that the AU's peace and security commissioner, Ramtane Lamamra, would be in Sudan on Monday to discuss the issue.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the chief prosecutor of the Hague-based ICC, asked the court on Monday for an arrest warrant for al-Beshir on 10 charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The AU, of which Sudan is a member, also issued an official statement voicing its reservations about the unprecedented move against Beshir.
Anticipating Moreno-Ocampo's move, AU Commission chief Jean Ping had over the past few days consulted with the UN, the Arab League and the Organisation for the Islamic Conference on the issue, the statement said.
International justice
They had discussed "ways and means of addressing the situation and ensuring that the hard won gains made in the search for peace and reconciliation in the Sudan are not jeopardised," it added.
On Saturday the AU issued a statement warning that the pursuit of international justice should not impede ongoing peace efforts.
A peace agreement was signed in January 2005 between the Khartoum government and the southern rebels of the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement, ending a two-decade civil war that had killed 1.5 million people.
But the deal's implementation has encountered many problems and observers have warned that the country remains on the brink of a fresh north-south conflict.