SIRTE, Libya, (Reuters) – African Union foreign ministers yesterday voted to suspend cooperation with the International Criminal Court over its indictment of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, a delegation member said.
The AU has said the warrant would compromise peace efforts in Darfur and the 53-member organisation wants a deferment of the indictment, covering war crimes carried out during fighting in Sudan’s Darfur region.
The draft for an AU summit, seen by Reuters, said: “(The African Union) decides that in view of the fact that the request by the African Union has never been acted upon that AU member states shall not cooperate pursuant to the provisions of Article 98 of the Rome Statute on the ICC…or the arrest and surrender of African indicted personalities.”
