The International Criminal Court's (ICC) adding three genocide counts to charges against Sudan's president could “jeopardize peace efforts” in Sudan, the Organization of the Islamic Conference said Thursday. “ICC's new move could jeopardize peace efforts aimed at fostering the political democratization of the country and the resolution of the conflict in Darfur through” the Doha-brokered peace talks, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, OIC secretary general, said in a statement. On July 12, the International Criminal Court added three genocide counts to the charges against Omar Al-Beshir. Khartoum dismissed the move as a “political” decision, while the rebel Justice and Equality Movement called it “a victory for the people of Darfur and the entire humanity.” The secretary general of the 57-member organization appealed “to the UN Security Council to work out a solution to this crisis,” as any “unpredictable developments” in Darfur “might impact not just the stability of Sudan but of the wider region as well.” Ihsanoglu also “expressed deep disappointment” over the decision, describing it an “unfortunate issue.” In March last year, the ICC issued a warrant for Beshir's arrest on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, its first ever for a sitting head of state. But that did not include three genocide charges as requested by prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who appealed its decision. In February, the ICC appeals chamber ordered judges to rethink their decision to omit genocide, saying they had made an “error in law” by setting the burden of proof too high. Beshir rejects the jurisdiction of the ICC and has refused to hand over two key allies wanted for crimes in Darfur. He is currently in Chad. It is the first country he has visited since the warrants were issued that, as a signatory of the ICC's founding Rome Statute, is obliged to arrest any person on its territory wanted by the court. Chad has insisted it will not arrest the Sudanese leader, with whom it is engaged in a bid to repair deeply strained diplomatic ties after years of proxy warfare.
