The March 30th Arab Summit in Doha could be a little uncomfortable after Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir announced his intention to attend, in defiance of the International Criminal Court’s warrant for his arrest.

However, it is almost certain that the visit will take place without incident, especially after Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal condemmed the ICC and casting doubt on their motives, claiming “It’s a politicised decision, otherwise it would not have come at this particular time”, and that it was counter productive, and pledged support. “We stand by Sudan with our heart and soul”.

Edward McMillan-Scott, Vice-President of the European Parliament, EPP Group

Leading European Parliamentarians condemned such statements at a meeting organised by Euro-Arab Forum. Edward McMillan-Scott, Vice-President of the European Parliament, EPP Group said he fully supported the decision of the ICC and that he could understand the reticence of some Arab countries, who traditionally dislike interference from outside, but the ‘age of impunity’ is over, “My problem is that some of the worst offenders, like China or Burma and indeed some Arab states, are not signatories to the ICC and therefore the age of impunity continues”, he said, and he called on public opinion to back the work and sincerity of the ICC and declared “Mr Bashir is certainly guilty of genocide”.

Hannes Swoboda MEP, Vice-President of the PSE Group wouldn’t go as far as declaring Bashir guilty, preferring to leave that issue to the court, but declared himself a supporter of the ICC, “I was supportive of our initiatative not to allow anyone to join the EU who hadn’t signed up to the ICC, but sometimes going the legal way may be an obstacle to negociations, but you use the law or not. you can’t pick and choose”. Comparing the issue with Zimbabwe, he expressed disapointment, “to say the least”, that neighbouring countries did not do enough to change the situation. “Human rights”, he said, “are universal values, they’re not European values”.