In light of the information that the President of Sudan, Mr. Omar Hassan Ahmed Al-Bashir, arrived in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), to attend a sub-regional meeting, the President of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Ambassador Tiina Intelmann, recalls that two warrants of arrest issued by the Court against Mr. Omar Al-Bashir are outstanding.
The President of the Assembly has written to H.E. Mr. Raymond Tshibanda N'tungamulongo, Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Francophonie of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, reminding the Government of the DRC of its obligation as a State Party to the Rome Statute to cooperate with the Court.
The Assembly has repeatedly expressed concerns regarding the negative consequences that failure to comply with decisions of the Court has on the Court’s capability to carry out its mandate. Therefore, the President of the Assembly deplores the visits of persons subject to ICC arrest warrants to any State Party.
The President appealed to States Parties and others in a position to do so to join efforts to prevent instances of non-cooperation. Further, she reminded States Parties that, as provided by Assembly Resolution ICC-ASP/12/Res.3, “contacts with persons in respect of whom an arrest warrant issued by the Court is outstanding should be avoided when such contacts undermine the objectives of the Rome Statute.”