LONDON - Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir will eventually face justice in The Hague, according to the head of the International Criminal Court. Speaking on the first anniversary of the ICC issuing an arrest warrant for Bashir, its president Judge Sang-hyun Song dismissed criticism that the man wanted on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity has not been apprehended. "When arrest warrants were issued against Slobodan Milosevic and Charles Taylor, people laughed and said it was a joke, but it took less than three years to get them brought before the tribunal," Song said on a visit to London. Bashir has dismissed the ICC warrant and said any ruling by the court is worthless. "President Bashir will be brought to the Hague to face justice," Song insisted. The United Nations estimates seven years of violent conflict in Sudan's Darfur region has left 300,000 dead. Scott Gration, the U.S. special envoy for Sudan, said justice for Darfur was essential to securing lasting peace in Sudan following a recent ceasefire and efforts to bring rebel groups into talks with the government. "We support efforts to ensure that President Bashir answers the questions that the ICC has posed and we support the process continuing as it's outlined in the international system," he told reporters in Washington. ICC prosecutors say Bashir "masterminded and implemented" a plan to destroy three ethnic groups, the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa, using a campaign of murder, rape and deportation. It was the first warrant ever issued by the ICC for a sitting head of state. Speaking at an event in parliament organized by the Henry Jackson Society, a geopolitical think-tank, Song said the ICC was a deterrent to despots across the world. "Some at the UN have told me they have noticed a deterrent effect by the judicial actions we've taken. Perhaps the would-be perpetrators of atrocities fear us, and this is an indication of our progress," Song said. Song also praised US President Barack Obama for adopting a more positive attitude to the ICC than his predecessor. "The US government has ended its antagonistic stance toward the ICC and the key phrase that their officials use is having a 'positive engagement' with us," he said. The United States has yet to ratify the 1998 Rome Statute, which established the ICC and which has been signed by 60 countries. Former President George W. Bush expressed concern that lawsuits could potentially be initiated with the ICC against US citizens abroad.
