This house believes that Arab states should hand over the Sudanese president to the International Criminal Court.
An audience at the Doha Debates has defied the governments of the Arab League and told them to send Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for trial at the International Criminal Court. A 350-strong audience voted 55 to 45 percent in favour of a motion: 'This House believes Arab states should...
| Corporate Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | , , , , |
| Format: | Video DVD |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Doha, Qatar :
Qatar Foundation,
[2009]
|
| Series: | Doha debates ;
series 5. |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | View this debate online |
| Summary: | An audience at the Doha Debates has defied the governments of the Arab League and told them to send Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for trial at the International Criminal Court. A 350-strong audience voted 55 to 45 percent in favour of a motion: 'This House believes Arab states should hand over the Sudanese President to the International Criminal Court'. Al-Bashir is viewed in the West as a prime architect of the massive human rights violations perpetrated in the Darfur region of Sudan, resulting in at least 200,000, and possibly as many as 400,000 deaths and millions of refugees and displaced persons. Speaking for the motion Ahmed Hussain Adam, spokesman for the Justice and Equality Movement, one of Sudan's main rebel groups in Darfur, said the indictment and trial of al-Bashir was essential for the region and for the world. Hani Shukrallah, co-Editor and columnist for the Egyptian daily Al-Shorouk, who also supported the motion, said the Arab world "as a whole is obliged to atone for the shame of having stood by the massacres of Darfur. He said Arab nations could not accuse the West of double standards "when we have double standards in our own backyard". Ghazi Salahuddin Atabani, a Sudanese politician and adviser to President al-Bashir, was adamant that the evidence against the President was "flimsy" and that the ICC was not fit to try him. Roland Marchal, senior research fellow at the National Centre for Scientific Research in Paris, echoed Atabani in questioning the authority of the ICC and its ability to offer an impartial trial. |
|---|---|
| Item Description: | Debate held April 27th, 2009 Videorecording. |
| Physical Description: | 1 videodisc (approximately 47 min.) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in. Also available onlive. |
| Format: | DVD. |