ICC move on President Bashir unlawful - Sudan envoy
18/07/2008 16:02 MOSCOW, July 18 (RIA Novosti) - The demand by the International Criminal Court to issue an order for the arrest of Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir is at odds with international law and erodes trust in international justice, Sudan's ambassador to Russia, Shol Deng Alak, said on Friday.
ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo on Monday accused Bashir of being behind attacks on three ethnic groups in Darfur and requested an arrest warrant on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
"A demand like this undermines trust in international justice, is at variance with international law, and indicates that different standards are being applied to different regions and countries," the ambassador told a news conference at RIA Novosti.
He said the prosecutor's demand was very dangerous, "since it requires the arrest of the president of a sovereign state that has not signed the Rome Charter and is not a member of the International Criminal Court."
"Why should the world community be set against [Sudan] over the Hague court prosecutor's demand, when the country is on its way to democracy?" he said.
According to UN estimates, some 300,000 people have died in the conflict in Darfur since 2003 and more than two million people have fled their homes.
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