Amnesty International deeply regrets that the Djiboutian authorities failed to arrest Sudan’s President Omar Al-Bashir during his visit to the country to attend the inauguration ceremony of Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh to a third term in office.
Amnesty International recalls that the President of Sudan is the subject of an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur.
Djibouti has hereby followed the example of Kenya and Chad in 2010 of violating its obligations under international law by providing safe haven to President Al-Bashir during his visit to the country.
As Djibouti has been a state party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court since 2003, the national authorities are obliged to cooperate with the Court, including arresting persons it has charged.
It is also troubling that senior government members from both France and the United States of America reportedly attended the inauguration alongside President Al-Bashir, as the Security Council, in its referral of the situation in Sudan to the International Criminal Court in 2005, explicitly urged all states to cooperate fully with the Court.
Amnesty International is also calling on the International Criminal Court to make a finding of non-cooperation by Djibouti and to transmit that finding to the Security Council, as provided by article 87(7) of the Rome Statute.
Amnesty International is calling on all members of the international community to ensure full accountability for international crimes committed in Sudan.