Now that al-Bashir has fallen, does ICC still have political will to go after him?
Ousted Sudan's president Omar al-Bashir. Uganda recently offered to grant al-Bashir asylum in the full knowledge that ICC warrant of arrest for the deposed Sudanese despot is still alive. PHOTO | ASHRAF SHAZLY | AFP
The International Criminal Court’s latest finding that Jordan was at fault in failing to arrest former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir when he visited Amman in 2017 even as it side-stepped action against the kingdom has sparked fresh concerns over the court’s ability to tame the world’s powerful political actors and rogue regimes.
The ICC Appeals Chamber’s decision was the latest in a series that has raised eyebrows and fuelled fears that the court may be caving in to pressure from powerful state actors who have waged prolonged smear campaigns against it or questioned its mandate to tackle international crimes.
