On June 24, Marietje Schaake submitted to Vice-President / High Representative of Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini, Parliamentary Written Questions on Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir being allowed to leave South Africa on 15 June, despite pending warrants from the International Criminal Court for his arrest. The Written Question was co-signed by 50 MEPs.
Please find the full text and supporting MEPs below.
Author: Marietje Schaake
Subject: The case of President Omar al-Bashir before the International Criminal Court
On Monday 15 June, Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir was able to leave South Africa, after attending an African Union meeting there. President al-Bashir is being sought by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide related to the conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan. Though South Africa is signatory of the Rome Statute, its government defied the longstanding arrest warrant for Mr. Bashir. It is not the first time that Mr Bashir has travelled to other countries that signed the Rome Statute and been allowed to leave.
How do the VP/HR and the EEAS plan to address this case with the South African authorities and how do they plan to ensure that this does not happen in the future?
How does the VP/HR assess the implications of the failure to arrest Mr Bashir for the credibility of the ICC and its ability to carry out its crucial task of ensuring accountability and justice for war criminals?
More broadly, how do the VP/HR and the EEAS plan to move forward to strengthen the ICC's credibility, especially in Africa, where resistance to the ICC has been growing over the past years and its legitimacy has actively been called into question?
Marietje SCHAAKE
Ivo VAJGL
Jean -Luc SCHAFFHAUSER
Marie-Christine VERGIAT
Hans-Olaf HENKEL
Helmut SCHOLZ
Sophie IN 'T VELD
Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS
Marc TARABELLA
Gerard DEPREZ
Fernando MAURA BARANDIARÁN
Nessa CHILDERS
Enrique CALVET CHAMBON
Ilhan KYUCHYUK
Alyn SMITH
Maite PAGAZAURTUNDÚA
Jiří POSPÍŠIL
Beatriz BECERRA
Marian HARKIN
Julie WARD
Afzal KHAN
Urmas PAET
Dietmar KÖSTER
Tunne KELAM
Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA
Judith SARGENTINI
Petr JEŽEK
Pavel TELIČKA
Filiz HYUSMENOVA
Milan ZVER
Matthijs VAN MILTENBURG
Gerben-Jan GERBRANDY
Josef WEIDENHOLZER
Fabio Massimo CASTALDO
Dita CHARANZOVÁ
Frédérique RIES
Molly SCOTT CATO
Godelieve QUISTHOUDT-ROWOHL
Petras AUSTREVICIUS
Patricija ŠULIN
Maria HEUBUCH
Nedzhmi ALI
Barbara LOCHBIHLER
Elena VALENCIANO
Marielle DE SARNEZ
Charles GOERENS
Kati PIRI
Ana GOMES
Brando BENIFEI
Michael GAHLER
Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT
