Civil Society Applaud Malawi decision to withdraw from hosting AU Summit

 Malawi civil society has strongly applaud the government  decision to withdraw  from hosting the African Union  (AU) Summit

Malawi's Vice president Khumbo Kachale announced on Friday 8th June that has decided not to host  the AU summit saying it can not be bulldozed  in hosting Sudanese president Al Bahir. 

  "We strongly applaud the government of Malawi for standing up to uphold and respect international commitment and obligation especially the Rome Statutes by opting to withdraw from hosting the 19th Summit of the African Union".  Reads the statement which was signed by nine civil society organizations

The statement added that the move to ban Bashir  is a clear manifestation that Malawi's new government will not compromise on anything less than justice and human rights.

  The civil society  further accused   the AU  for  promotion   oppressors of human rights at the highest level.

"As a state party to the Rome Statute, which created the ICC, we are required to cooperate with the court, which includes executing arrest warrants. This is made against the backdrop that the ICC has no police force and thus depends on member states to enforce its orders." Read the statement

They further argued that though  invested resources into the hosting of the 19th Summit  has gone down the drain, there  are still of the view that the decision was timely and beyond government’s control.

 "We believe that this painful decision demonstrates our government’s commitment to defending its human rights record and the interests of Malawi against the potential economic gains associated with hosting the Summit."

 The undersigned CSOs therefore called upon all concerned parties including all African countries and the African Union  to do the needful by way of being agents of justice and not protect and give immunity to alleged or suspected criminals.

"In this regard, we applaud countries like Zambia, South Africa, and Botswana who have made it clear that President Omar Al Bashir is not welcome in their territories."

They further demanded  all African countries that are party to the Rome Statutes to uphold and respect the determination of the ICC.

 "In this regard, we urge all the African States to continue to put more pressure on Khartoum by way closing their borders to President Omar Al Bashir."