Key Highlights
- Sudan says President Omar al-Bashir will soon travel to China.
- China has included al-Bashir on its list of invitees to its September 3rd 2015 parade commemorating the end of World War II.
- Al-Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide and war crimes.
- He made headlines in June by cutting short a South Africa visit while judges deliberated on whether he should be arrested.
Analysis
China is not a party to the treaty that established the ICC, but it’s a permanent member of the Security Council that referred the situation in Sudan’s Darfur region to the court in 2005.
The Security Council is the United Nations’ most powerful body, with primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.
It is the Security Council that imposed sanctions against Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir on charges of genocide and war crimes. The genocide was sparked in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel groups began fighting the government of Sudan, which they accused of oppressing Darfur’s non-Arab population.
The government responded to attacks by carrying out a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Darfur’s non-Arabs. This resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians and the accusation of Sudan’s president Omar al-Bashir for genocide and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The UN Security Council referred the situation in Sudan’s Darfur region to the ICC court in 2005. China happens to be a member of the council. Surprisingly however, China has allied herself with Omar al-Bashir in diplomatic lines.
In June 2015, al-Bashir while on a trip in South Africa was allowed to fly back to Sudan, in a situation that was termed as escape when he should have been arrested. This has sparked disagreement between South Africa’s judicial and executive system. It is the judicial court that ruled that al Bashir be arrested. The executive has accused the judiciary of not supporting the government.
The current situation of governments going easy on ICC wanted victims puts their commitment to their allegiance to the treaty at question.
