By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/iccau1bashir071709.html
UNITED NATIONS, July 16 -- Uganda is a state party to the International Criminal Court, and a member of the African Union. These two roles came into conflict this week, when Uganda officials were quoted that if he visited Uganda for a summit, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir would be arrested on the ICC warrant against him. Then it was reported that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who referred Ugandan rebel Joseph Kony of the Lord's Resistance Army to the ICC, called al-Bashir to assure him that Uganda would not enforce the ICC warrant.
On July 17, Inner City Press asked the President of the Assembly of State Parties of the ICC and its Rome Statute, Liechtenstein Ambassador Christian Wenaweser about Uganda's double message. Wenaweser said that on July 16, he had a long conversation with Uganda's Ambassador who gave assurances was committed "to its obligations under the Rome Statute" -- that is, to arrest al Bashir. Since Museveni had invited al Bashir to Uganda, Inner City Press asked Wenaweser if this might be a set up. "Ask him the question," Wenaweser said, referring to Uganda's Ambassador Ruhakana Rugunda. Video here, from Minute 6:42.
As luck would have it, Ambassador Rugunda, July's president of the Security Council, came to the stakeout an hour after the ICC Justice Day briefing. Inner City Press asked Ambassador Rugunda to respond to Wenaweser's characterization of their conversation and his alleged commitment to live up to Uganda's Rome Statute obligations to arrest. Ruganda noted that the African Union has set up a committee of former heads of state, led by South African Thabo Mbeki, and said that Uganda is waiting for a report from Mr. Mbeki. Ruganda said this should make his country's position clear.
Inner City Press asked, so if al Bashir visits, he will not be arrested? Ruganda said his country has invited al Bashir and is a "respectable state" -- they did not invited al-Bashir to Uganda in order to arrest him. Video here, from Minute 1:26.
So Wenaweser claims Uganda's Ambassador committed to live up to its Rome Statute obligations to arrest al Bashir, while Uganda's Ambassador himself said that his country will not arrest al-Bashir. And this on Justice Day.....
Wenaweser also bragged that al-Bashir, since he was indicted by the ICC, has not visited any state party, leading some to believe that there is a method to the confusion in the run-up to al-Bashir's scheduled trip to Uganda, which got canceled. Also, a day after Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson was asked but did not answer if chief UN peacekeeper Alain Le Roy met with al-Bashir during his recent trip to Sudan, Inner City Press asked Le Roy if he had met with al Bashir. He was out of the country, Le Roy answered, "in Egypt" at the meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement. But would Le Roy have met with al-Bashir? He shrugged at the hypothetical question.
Wenaweser said that the UN's policy is to meet with ICC indictees only if it is essential. Inner City Press, beyond asking if dinner with indictee Jean-Bosco Ntanga in Goma is essential, later asked UN spokesperson Michele Montas if the UN World Food Program met with Al Shabab in Somalia. Ms. Montas replied that UN agencies meet with whom they have to, "on the ground," but said to ask WFP about Al Shabab. The staff of the UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee this week told Inner City Press there is good reason to believe that Al Shabab is affiliated with Al Qaeda. And so it goes...
