Saturday, 02 July 2011
African heads of state and country representatives stand during the opening session of the 17th African Union Summit, at Sipopo Conference Center, outside Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. (AP photo)
The African Union said on Friday it would not execute an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi.
In a summit held in Equatorial Guinea, African states said in a joint statement that the warrant issued last week “seriously complicates” efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict between Mr. Qaddafi’s forces and Libyan rebels, a text of the decision said.
In a summit held in Equatorial Guinea, African states said in a joint statement that the warrant issued last week “seriously complicates” efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict between Mr. Qaddafi’s forces and Libyan rebels, a text of the decision said.
An assembly of the summit decided that “AU member states shall not cooperate in the execution of the arrest warrant,” according to a text of the decisions.
The warrant “seriously complicates the efforts aimed at finding a negotiated political settlement to the crisis in Libya, which will also address, in a mutually reinforcing way, issues related to impunity and reconciliation,” it said.
The 53-nation African Union took a similar stance against an ICC warrant for Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir in 2009 on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
The Hague-based ICC has issued arrests warrants for Colonel Qaddafi, his son Seif al-Islam, 39, and the head of Libyan intelligence, Abdullah al-Senussi, for the murder and persecution of civilians who rebelled against his 42-year rule since February 17, 2011.
Mr. Qaddafi holds no formal office in Libya’s political system despite having ruled for more than 41 years.
The ICC, however, has other views.
“The chamber hereby issues a warrant of arrest against Muammar Qaddafi,” Judge Sanji Mmasenono Monageng said during a hearing at the Hague-based court.
“To prevent them covering up ongoing crimes and committing new crimes, they should be arrested. This is the only way to protect civilians in Libya,” said ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who had sought the arrest warrants.
The ruling is unlikely to lead to Mr. Qaddafi’s arrest as long he remains in power and inside Libya, because the court does not have the police power to enforce its warrants.
Thousands have died in the fighting, while approximately 650,000 others have fled the country. Another 243,000 Libyans have been displaced internally, according to UN figures.
(Mustapha Ajbaili, a senior editor at Al Arabiya English, can be reached at Mustapha.ajbaili@mbc.net.)
The warrant “seriously complicates the efforts aimed at finding a negotiated political settlement to the crisis in Libya, which will also address, in a mutually reinforcing way, issues related to impunity and reconciliation,” it said.
The 53-nation African Union took a similar stance against an ICC warrant for Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir in 2009 on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
The Hague-based ICC has issued arrests warrants for Colonel Qaddafi, his son Seif al-Islam, 39, and the head of Libyan intelligence, Abdullah al-Senussi, for the murder and persecution of civilians who rebelled against his 42-year rule since February 17, 2011.
Mr. Qaddafi holds no formal office in Libya’s political system despite having ruled for more than 41 years.
The ICC, however, has other views.
“The chamber hereby issues a warrant of arrest against Muammar Qaddafi,” Judge Sanji Mmasenono Monageng said during a hearing at the Hague-based court.
“To prevent them covering up ongoing crimes and committing new crimes, they should be arrested. This is the only way to protect civilians in Libya,” said ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who had sought the arrest warrants.
The ruling is unlikely to lead to Mr. Qaddafi’s arrest as long he remains in power and inside Libya, because the court does not have the police power to enforce its warrants.
Thousands have died in the fighting, while approximately 650,000 others have fled the country. Another 243,000 Libyans have been displaced internally, according to UN figures.
(Mustapha Ajbaili, a senior editor at Al Arabiya English, can be reached at Mustapha.ajbaili@mbc.net.)
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