Chad should arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and hand him over to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face genocide charges, the European Union's foreign policy chief said Thursday as al-Bashir visited Chad, dpa reported.
The ICC issued a warrant for al-Bashir's arrest in March 2009 after allegations that he had instigated war crimes in the Sudanese province of Darfur. Chad has signed up to the ICC's founding statutes, but said that it will not arrest its high-profile visitor.
EU High Representative Catherine Ashton "urges Chad to respect its obligations under international law to arrest and surrender those indicted by the ICC," her spokeswoman, Maja Kocijancic, said in a statement.
Ashton is "concerned" by al-Bashir's visit and "firmly recalls" the responsibility of ICC supporter states, such as Chad, to carry out the organization's arrest warrants, Kocijancic said.
The ICC originally charged al-Bashir with war crimes, and added three counts of genocide to the charges earlier in July.
"The most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole - genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes - must not go unpunished, and their prosecution must be ensured by measures at both domestic and international level," the EU statement said. dpa bn mis Author: Ben Nimmo
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