ICC to Bag Bashir: Show Your Support

Today, March 4, is a monumental day for the International Criminal Court and those working to end the violence in Darfur: the ICC has released a formal arrest warrant for Sudanese President al-Bashir, accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, marking the first time an acting head of state has ever been indicted by the Court. For everyone who has been advocating for the Darfuri people all these years, today is a day to congratulate one another and celebrate progress!

President al-Bashir may try to run from the arrest warrant or he may put up a fight, but the 108 nations that have ratified the Rome Statute are all obligated to hand him over if he flees to their countries. Essentially, Bashir cannot run and he cannot hide. This simple statement symbolizes a total paradigm shift in the world - heads of state can no longer commit atrocious crimes and get away with it while brandishing the shield of national sovereignty; world leaders will have to face the scales of justice from now on. They will be held accountable for their actions, and not by violent military invasions, but through the systematic policies of an international institution of law.

The down side to this news is that while the 138 countries that have signed the Rome Statute in support of the ICC can all claim victory in Bashir's arrest, the United States cannot. Our country has not formally supported the ICC since George Bush unsigned the Statute in 2002. You can help change this, and help educate your lawmakers and neighbors by writing a letter to your local newspaper editor in response to articles that are sure to be written about the Bashir indictment. (If your paper fails to cover this, that's worth writing to the editor about, too.)

Click here to send a pre-formatted letter to the editor in two minutes, or please feel free to write a letter of your own! Then, of course, let us know if your letter gets published!

Congratulations again to all of those who have advocated for ending violence in Darfur - Bashir's indictment is a huge achievement!