African Union Defies ICC, Won't Arrest Sudanese Leader

July 3, 2009 7:36 p.m. EST

Tripoli, Libya (AHN) - Fifty-three countries belonging to the African Union decided not to comply with the International Criminal Court's order to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir during their summit in Tripoli, Libya on Friday.

The delegates also appealed to the United Nations Security Council to delay the arrest warrant for Bashir, whom the ICC charged with war crimes for the alleged death of 300,000 civilians and displacement of 2.7 million people in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region.

"The AU member states shall not cooperate... for the arrest and surrender of Sudan President Omar al-Beshir," said the joint declaration of AU members, who felt the ICC is unfairly targeting Africans.

The AU's decision was contrary to the statutes creating the ICC in which states that ratified the treaty are obliged to comply with and enforce the court's orders and decisions.

However, Ghana's Foreign Minister Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni argued that a treaty provision allows states to pass a resolution asking the UN Security Council to delay Bashir's arrest warrant for one year.

"It was virtually ignored. That we thought was a slap," Mumuni told Agence France-Presse, referring to the resolution.