[JURIST] The International Criminal Court [official website] is urging India to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir [ICC charges] when he visits the country this week. The office of Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda [official profile] said that even though India is not an ICC signatory, the UN Security Council has lifted Bashir’s immunity and urged all states comply [Reuters report]. Bashir is accused [ICC case materials] of a wide array of crimes against humanity including genocide and other war crimes.

In early October a South African deputy minister said that the nation will leave the ICC, stating that the court has “lost its direction.” Following criticism for ignoring [JURIST report] an ICC directive to arrest the president of Sudan, Obed Bapela of the ruling African National Congress [party website] told reporters [Reuters report] that South Africa will continue to uphold “the flag of human rights” independent of the ICC. In March the ICC requested assistance [JURIST report] from the UN Security Council in affecting the arrest of Bashir. In asking the Council to take “necessary measures” to force Sudan to comply with the ICC investigation, the court noted that without such assistance, the Council’s decision to request investigation into Bashir in 2005 would “never achieve its ultimate goal.” Bashir spent two days in South Africa in mid-June, during which time a judge for South Africa’s highest court issued an order [JURIST report] barring Bashir from leaving the country.