International Court on the offensive

Yesterday, I speculated on what might lie behind the latest press release from the International Criminal Court shaming Kenya and Chad for inviting Sudan's wanted President to visit. This morning I had another press release waiting for me.

It carries the bland heading: 'ICC Registrar meets with the Attorney General of the State of Qatar'. That would be quite uninteresting except that it was in Qatar in March last year that Arab leaders rejected the Court's decision to issue an arrest warrant for Sudan's President.

The press release claims:

During the meeting Mrs. Arbia and Dr. Al-Marri emphasized their shared commitment to the rule of law and the need to respect international law.

Apparently, the Court is doing its best to shore up support among Arab states and hopefully win their cooperation in arresting Al Bashir.

On a separate note, Geoff Tooth was appointed Australia’s High Commissioner to Kenya today. Hopefully there will be no more visits from wanted Presidents.

Photo by Flickr user sigma, used under a Creative Commons license.