The French government has called on Khartoum to make a "gesture" to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the United Nations Security Council by delivering two Sudanese officials, who are sought to answer war-related crimes.
"Any gesture on the part of the Sudanese authorities that would be in conformity with the decisions that have already been made by the court will constitute an element of positive discretion," foreign ministry spokesman Eric Chevallier told a regular press briefing on Tuesday.
Sudanese Humanitarian Affairs Minister Ahmed Haroun and Ali Kosheib, one of the key leaders of the pro-government Janjaweed militia, are the subjects of two international arrest warrants issued by the ICC in May 2007.
The two, according to ICC prosecutors, are wanted to answer to charges ranging from war crimes to genocide in connection with "their acts of omissions or commissions" in the civil war-hit western Sudanese region of Darfur.
So far, Khartoum has maintained that the ICC has no jurisdiction over its territory and subsequently refused to hand over the two. "There are already two arrest warrants that have been issued by the court with regard to Sudan: against Haroun and Kosheib," said Chevallier.
If Sudan agrees to deliver Haroun and Kosheib "this may form an integral part of the dialogue that we are currently having with our various partners, including the UN Security Council," said Chevallier, who called on Khartoum to cooperate with the ICC.
On Monday, in a move that left many baffled, ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked the ICC judges to issue an arrest warrant against Sudan President Omar al-Bashir for "genocide" in the Sudanese province of Darfur, where the government is battling a simmering rebellion.
The move marked the first time the Netherlands-based court, which is the only permanent court to try perpetrators of war crimes against humanity and genocide, will deliberate on an arrest warrant against a sitting head of state.
"At this time, United Nations Secretary-General (Ban Ki-Moon), but also France, believe that we must begin a dialogue with all international actors: the African Union, the Arab League, which have taken positions, as well as members of the Security Council," said the spokesman.
When asked whether France, a veto-wielding permanent member of the UN Security Council, would be ready to block an arrest warrant issued against the president of Sudan if Haroun and Kosheib were delivered, the spokesman, however, replied: "This has not been discussed."
The Sudanese government warned Tuesday that UN peacekeeping work in its strife-torn region of Darfur region would suffer if President Omar al-Bashir were to be indicted for war crimes and arrested by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Source:Xinhua
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