Al-Bashir will fly to Accra next week to participate in the Sixth Summit of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP Group).

In mid-July the ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo announced that he is seeking an arrest warrant for Al-Bashir.

The ICC’s prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo filed 10 charges: three counts of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and two of murder. It was only last week that judges have started reviewing the case in a process that could possibly drag on to next year.

Ghana is a member of the ICC making it legally bound to apprehend Al-Bashir if the Judges endorse the charges brought forward by the prosecutor.

However an official in Accra suggested that his government is not prepared to carry out its obligations under the ICC Statute.

“I don’t think he will be arrested if he comes to Ghana. It is unlikely because there are lots of issues involved which we must consider, apart from our own interest” an unidentified Ghanaian official told Reuters today.

“First of all the issue of Bashir’s indictment is inconclusive because there are various discussions still going on. For example the position of the Africa Union which thinks that the issue could be handled differently. I believe Ghana will not ignore this position and jump the gun” the official added.

Despite the fact that African nations make up the majority of ICC members, the countries on the continent were the most outspoken to condemn the move by the prosecutor against Al-Bashir.

Sudan and a number of regional organizations including the African Union (AU), Arab League, Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) condemned Ocampo’s request and called on the UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution deferring Al-Bashir’s indictment.

In July South Africa also a member of the ICC criticized the move to indict Al-Bashir and questioned who would arrest him.

“This action will take months but even if it is granted, what happens?” South African deputy foreign minister Aziz Pahad told reporters this month.

“You can’t arrest Bashir. Who’s going to arrest him?” he added.

Senegal however was the only country to reiterate its commitment to the ICC Statute.

The Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade revealed that he told his Sudanese counterpart during a phone conversation that he will not be able to offer him refuge if the judges of the ICC issue an arrest warrant for him.

Wade speaking from Chicago told Senegal News Agency (APS) that he informed Sudanese president Omar Hassan Al-Bashir that they are party to the ICC and they cannot “make an exception”.

The positions by the ICC members are likely to deal a severe blow to the court which was established in 2002.

However the Ghanaian official said that Al-Bashir had a “credibility problem” because of the allegations, noting that in 2006, well before the ICC accusations, fellow African leaders had rejected Bashir’s bid to assume the revolving chair of the African Union.

“He is not the most popular guy among his peer group right now” he added.

Sudan has not ratified the Rome Statute, but the UNSC triggered the provisions under the Statute that enables it to refer situations in non-State parties to the world court if it deems that it is a threat to international peace and security.

(ST)

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