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CAIRO : The Arab League on Saturday slammed the International Criminal Court's "unbalanced" prosecutor for seeking the arrest of Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir, saying Sudan's courts should judge alleged Darfur war crimes.
Arab foreign ministers stressed "the mandate of Sudan's civil judiciary in achieving justice," in a resolution following crisis talks in Cairo over how to deal with ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo's request on Monday for Beshir to be arrested on genocide charges.
The resolution also criticised Moreno-Ocampo's "unbalanced stance" for asking ICC judges to issue a warrant for Beshir's arrest, which, if granted, would be the first ever issued by The Hague-based court against a sitting head of state.
Some of the Arab League's 22-members have previously criticised Moreno-Ocampo's move, saying it threatens peace prospects in Darfur, while also fearing a dangerous precedent for other leaders in the region.
Khartoum has consistently rejected the ICC's jurisdiction, saying it would try alleged war criminals in its own courts, although credible trials have so far failed to materialise.
Sudan has refused to surrender two suspects named last year in connection with war crimes in Darfur and hopes to persuade veto-wielding permanent members of the UN Security Council to defer any ICC prosecution of Beshir.
The Darfur conflict broke out in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated regime in Khartoum and state-backed militias.
The United Nations has said 300,000 people have died and more than 2.2 million have been displaced. Khartoum puts the number of dead at 10,000.
- AFP /ls
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