AU: ICC decision on al-Bashir harms peace process

The African Union (AU) said on Friday a decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to consider adding genocide charges to an arrest warrant for President Omar al-Bashir harms the peace process in Sudan.

“The AU reiterates that the search for justice should be pursued in a manner not detrimental to the search for peace. The latest decision by the ICC runs in the opposite direction,” the bloc said in a statement.

An appeals chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Wednesday ordered a review of al-Bashir’s arrest warrant for alleged atrocities in the western Sudanese province of Darfur.

It directed judges to reconsider their decision omitting genocide from the warrant issued in March last year, saying they had made “an error in law”.—AFP