Two human rights centers interested in the situation in Darfur have welcomed the international arrest warrant that was issued today for Omar al-Bashir, the President of Sudan, on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) has confirmed that the court's decision was based on information and evidence sufficient to charge al-Bashir and other Sudanese officials.
The institute has called on the regime in Khartoum to obey the ICC decision to stop the bloodshed in Darfur. It has condemned the Arab governments' stance to protect war criminals, who do harm to the Sudanese people. The court's double standards towards the Israelis do not mean rejecting the court's protocol or that the Arab governments should follow the same policy of double standards and help the war criminals in Darfur to evade punishment.
On the other hand, the Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession issued a statement in which he said the decision to arrest a president of a State while he is still in power as an end to the diplomatic immunities that have no longer been a protection for those who are accused of committing crimes against humanity. The international community's cooperation with the ICC is means to curb the culture of impunity, the center added.
