#GlobalJustice Weekly - India: Do not welcome ICC fugitive al-Bashir
India: Do not welcome al-Bashir
21 international and African nongovernmental organizations are calling on India not to welcome ICC fugitive Omar al-Bashir during a summit next week.
“Al-Bashir is an alleged war criminal on the run from the law,” said Oby Nwankwo, steering committee member at the Nigerian Coalition for the ICC. “Hosting al-Bashir would tarnish India’s global standing and be an affront to the victims.”
India says that it has no obligation to arrest the Sudanese president as it is not an ICC member state. But the ICC prosecutor called on authorities to help end impunity for the world’s worst crimes by carrying out the arrest, noting that the UN resolution that asked the ICC to investigate in Darfur urged all states to cooperate fully with the ICC.
Saudi Arabia has also invited al-Bashir to attend a summit in November.
ICC investigations
Central African Republic: The UN Security Council said recent upsurge of violence in the Central African Republic may amount to war crimes and asked for the perpetrators to be held accountable. At least 31 civilians were killed in less than a week in the capital Bangui according to Human Rights Watch.
Kenya: Kenya has requested the UN Security Council to defer the ICC trial against Vice-President William Ruto and broadcaster Joshua Sang. The African Union opposes Rule 68 of the Court’s Rules of Procedure and Evidence on recanted testimony in the case.
Democratic Republic of Congo: A former officer in the Union of Congolese Patriots testified in the trial against former militia leader Bosco Ntaganda about the militia group’s communications systems in eastern DRC.
Côte d’Ivoire: National and international civil society called for peaceful presidential elections to be held on 25 October. The Côte d’Ivoire national coalition for the ICCurged the ICC prosecutor to reaffirm her commitment to bring perpetrators of grave crimes in the country to justice (in French).
ICC preliminary examinations
Georgia: Mark Kersten reflects on how the different stakeholders in the 2008 conflict over South Ossetia perceive the possible ICC investigation into the situation.
Palestine: Relatives of a US citizen killed in the raid against the humanitarian flotilla Mavi Marmara are suing former Israel defense minister Ehud Barak. Palestinian human rights lawyer Jamil Dakwar shares his thoughts on the likelihood of an ICC investigation in Palestine.
Ukraine: As Ukrainian civil society submitted documentation to the ICC regarding serious crimes committed in Eastern Ukraine, a new report urges the ICC to open an investigation into the country.
Campaign for Global Justice
The International Bar Association called on South Africa to remain in the ICC system.
What else is happening?
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Should victims of grave crimes have a greater say in the ICC prosecutor’s decisions to open investigations?
The Yazidi community urged the UN to define the IS onslaught as genocide.
Parties to the conflict in Yemen have allegedly violated the laws of war.
A Sri Lankan judge claims war crimes allegations in the country are credible.
A powerful play reveals the untold terrors experienced by countless victims of the two-decade conflict in Northern Uganda.
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