The Danish government must arrest Sudanese President al Bashir if he attends the Copenhagen climate conference next month, said Amnesty International today. Amnesty has learned that the Danish government has invited President al Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur, to attend the meeting in December.

Amnesty International received the information during a meeting of member states to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Christopher Keith Hall, Senior Legal Adviser at Amnesty International, said:

“Denmark needs to make it clear that it will arrest President al Bashir if he travels to Copenhagen.

“The International Criminal Court needs the cooperation of its member states. Under the Rome Statute which established the ICC, Denmark has a duty to arrest and surrender any person within its territory who is subject to an arrest warrant issued by the ICC.”

“Denmark can and must demonstrate its leadership on bringing alleged perpetrators of the worst crimes to justice by acknowledging its duty to arrest.”

The ICC issued an arrest warrant for President al Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur earlier this year.