Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and leaders of the Arab League have formally renounced the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) recent arrest warrant for Bashir.

In late March, Bashir attended the Arab League summit with sixteen other Arab heads of state.  Qatar, which hosted the summit, not only gave Bashir assurances that he would not be arrested, but also welcomed him with the red carpet.  The often divided Arab League then ended the summit with the joint statement: “We stress our solidarity with Sudan and our rejection of the ICC decision against President Omar al-Bashir.”

Bashir has also visited a number of countries in the Arab region since the ICC’s issuance of his arrest under similar provisions as those provided by Qatar.

LEARN MORE

ICC Chief Prosecutor: Sudan’s Bashir Will Face Justice, Voice of America, 3 April 2009.

World Court Under Threat as President al-Bashir of Sudan Defies Warrant, Times Online, 2 April 2009.

Arab Leaders Snub al-Bashir Warrant, Al Jazeera, 31 March 2009.

Often Split, Arab Leaders Unite for Sudan’s Chief, New York Times, 30 March 2009.

Read the Peace Laureates’ Statement on ICC’s Arrest Warrant for Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir.

Read Humanitarian Organizations Expelled from Darfur.

Read about Sudan in the Nobel Women’s Initiative 2008 Delegation Report.