وقوفا مع ضحايا دارفور ملاوي تؤكد رفضها حضور البشير للقمة

AU Summit: Malawi Stands With Darfur Victims
Government Won’t Host Summit if al-Bashir Attends

JUNE 8, 2012


Sudan President Omar al-Bashir
© 2011 Reuters
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Malawian President Joyce Banda took a strong stance in support of justice despite tough pressure from the African Union. Malawi has done right by Darfur victims today.

Undule Mwakasungula, director ofthe Malawi Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation
(Johannesburg) –The Malawi government showed strong support for victims of international crimes by deciding not to be the host of the African Union (AU) summit if President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan is allowed to attend, African civil society organizations and international organizations with a presence in Africa said today.

The AU has insisted that al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur, be permitted to attend the summit, scheduled for July 9 to 16, 2012.

“Malawian President Joyce Banda took a strong stance in support of justice despite tough pressure from the African Union,” said Undule Mwakasungula, director ofthe Malawi Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation. “Malawi has done right by Darfur victims today.”

When Banda became president in April, she indicated that Malawi would continue to host the AU summit as planned. But she also made clear that al-Bashir would not be welcome at the summit given his pending ICC arrest warrant.

Malawi is a state party to the Rome Statute, which created the ICC.The Rome Statute requires member states to cooperate with the court, which includes executing arrest warrants. The ICC has no police force and thus depends on member states to enforce its orders.

According to news reports, the AU wrote the Malawi government in June that it would move the July summit if al-Bashir were not welcomed. The AU previously has issued decisions that its members should not cooperate in the arrest of al-Bashir, but these do not negate the obligations of ICC member states to arrest, the organizations said. Malawi’s previous president, the late Bingu wa Mutharika, allowed al-Bashir to visit in October 2011.

“Malawi joins an increasing number of countries that have declined to welcome al-Bashir,” said Alan Wallis, international justice lawyer at the Southern Africa Litigation Centre. “More states should follow Malawi’s example.”

Some countries have allowed al-Bashir on their territory, such as Kenya, Chad, and Djibouti. Following outcries from African civil society groups, other states have cancelled visits, including Zambia, Central African Republic, Uganda, and Kenya for a return visit. In addition, countries such as South Africa and Botswana have made clear that al-Bashir is not welcome on their soil.

“Civil society groups across the African continent have repeatedly urged governments to arrest – not host – al-Bashir,” said Elise Keppler, senior international justice counsel at Human Rights Watch. “African activists have called for their governments to stand with victims, not with suspected war criminals.”

The organizations quoted in this news release are part of an informal network of African civil society organizations and international organizations with a presence in Africa who work on the ICC and Africa. Additional organizations that are involved in this informal network that expressed support for this release are the West African Bar Association in Nigeria, the Ugandan Coalition for the International Criminal Court, the International Commission of Jurists-Kenya, the Coalition for Justice and Accountability in Sierra Leone, the Center for Accountability and Rule of Law-Sierra Leone, the International Crime in Africa Programme of the Institute for Security Studies in South Africa, Amnesty International, the global Coalition for the International Criminal Court, and the International Center for Transitional Justice.

Malawi civil society organizations have indicated they will also issue a statement on Malawi’s decision not to be the host for the summit. A link to their statement will be added to the webpage version of this release once it is available.

BLANTYRE, Malawi: Malawi won’t host an African Union summit next month after a dispute over the southern African country’s refusal to host Sudan’s leader, who faces war crimes charges, the vice president said Friday.

“Much as Malawi has obligations to the AU, it has also other obligations,” Vice President Khumbo Kachali said in a statement on state radio. “The Cabinet has decided not to host the summit.”

Earlier, according to Kachali, the government had received a letter from the AU saying that it had no right to dictate who could attend the AU summit set to open July 6, and if it insisted on barring Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir, the summit would be moved to AU headquarters in Ethiopia. Summits normally rotate among AU members states.

Joyce Banda has steered an independent path for Malawi since stepping in as president in April after the sudden death in office of Bingu wa Mutharika. Mutharika had welcomed Bashir at a regional summit last year.

Bashir has visited African, Asian and Middle Eastern countries despite International Criminal Court warrants for his arrest on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Sudan’s Darfur region.

Speaking at a news conference in May, Banda said a visit by Sudan’s president would be frowned upon by Malawi’s international donors.

Banda has worked to repair ties with donors strained by her predecessor. Earlier this week, the International Monetary Fund said it and Malawi had agreed to a three-year, $157 million aid package. The IMF had described its work in Malawi as offtrack under Mutharika, who had refused to devalue the currency as the IMF had advised. In May, Malawi devalued its currency by one third.

Last month, Britain said its central bank would work directly with the Reserve Bank of Malawi to help it cope with the impact of currency devaluation. Also last month, Britain – a former ruler of Malawi – pledged 20 million pounds ($32 million) to help stabilize the Malawian economy and 10 million pounds for the country’s health system.

Last year, Mutharika expelled Britain’s high commissioner to Malawi after the envoy was quoted in a local newspaper as expressing concern that the president was increasingly intolerant of criticism and asserting that human rights were under attack. Britain, then indefinitely suspended aid to Malawi, which in invited the envoy back.



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