JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia – The Organisation of the Islamic Conference has slammed the international arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir for alleged war crimes in conflict-ravaged Darfur.
In a statement after a meeting of the OIC executive committee at the United Nations on Friday, the Saudi-based grouping condemned the International Criminal Court action of March 4 as "unwarranted, totally unacceptable."
The ICC move would "not only undermine the ongoing efforts aimed at facilitating the early resolution of the conflict in Darfur and promote long lasting peace and reconciliation in the Sudan, but also lead to destabilisation of the country and the region," it said.
The United Nations says 300,000 people have died — many from disease and hunger — and 2.7 million been made homeless by the Darfur conflict, which erupted in 2003. Khartoum puts the death toll at 10,000.
On the day the ICC warrant was issued, OIC chief Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu had rejected the move as "void and lacking sound reasoning."
The statement after Friday’s meeting "rejected the selectivity and double standard applied in relation to issues of war crimes and crimes against humanity which adversely affect the credibility of the international legal system."
It also urged the UN Security Council to suspend indefinitely the ICC move against Beshir and the court itself "to revoke its decision."
Khartoum responded to the ICC arrest warrant by announcing the expulsion of 13 foreign aid agencies working in Sudan.