Human Rights Watch urged the government of Chad to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir or bar him from the country, in a news release today.
Al-Bashir is expected to travel to Chad today, to attend the Greenbelt Conference of the Community of Sahel-Saharan States, according to news reports.
Al-Bashir has been indicted of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Since the issue of the arrest warrant, Chad has been the only ICC member country to allow al-Bashir to visit on multiple occasions. Human Rights Watch reiterated today, that as an ICC member, Chad is obligated to cooperate in securing the surrender of those wanted by the court.
Several other African ICC members, including South Africa, Malawi, Botswana, Central African Republic and Zambia have made clear that al-Bashir will be arrested on their territory, or have denied al-bashir the opportunity visiting their countries.
The Senior International Justice counsel at Human Rights Watch, called upon Chad to act with the victims of Darfur, stating,
“Governments should stand with Darfur’s victims and ensure that al-Bashir faces justice.”
