China, Sudan's Protector and Enabler

The ICC is on the verge of issuing an arrest warrant for Sudanese President el-Bashir for crimes against humanity -- but China is preparing to introduce a UN resolution to suspend jurisdiction over Sudan.
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The International Criminal Court is on the verge of issuing an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir for crimes against humanity. According to my sources, at this very moment, China is preparing to introduce a United Nations resolution to suspend ICC jurisdiction over Sudan. The Chinese backed resolution proposes stripping the ICC of its power to investigate or prosecute Sudanese authorities for 12 months. Under Article 16 of the Rome statute the UN Security Council has that authority, renewable at six monthly intervals. If the UN Security Council invokes such a suspension they will be held accountable by the people of the world. I think the resolution will be vetoed, hopefully by the US, almost certainly by the UK and France who have been clear supporters of the ICC. It will be an interesting time to see the P5 (US, UK, France, Russia and China) forced to put their cards on the table. Who will they stand for? The perpetrators or the victims?

This move by Beijing further casts China in the role of Sudan's enabler and defender and secures their position in the Darfur genocide as the second most culpable nation in the world.

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