ICC chief prosecutor in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa to meet AU panel on Darfur

Excerpt from a report by AFP, Tuesday 07 July 2009 (ADDIS ABABA):
AU, ICC 'working together on Darfur crisis': prosecutor

The African Union and the International Criminal Court "are working together" to resolve the crisis in Sudan's Darfur region, court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo insisted Tuesday.

"Now it is time to stop the crimes. The AU is working (to stop the suffering of people in Darfur), the court is working, and we are working together," Ocampo said.

"Peace and justice are working together in Darfur," insisted the prosecutor, who was behind the ICC arrest warrant against Sudan's President Omar al-Beshir for crimes against civilians in the war-torn, western Darfur region.

His comments came after the AU on Friday said it would not cooperate with the warrant and again appealed to the United Nations to delay the case.

But Ocampo insisted Tuesday: "Mr Beshir will face the charges. It will take time, it is a process.

"Arresting a head of state is a process, it is not a police operation."

Ocampo was speaking on a visit to Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa to meet an AU panel which focuses on the crisis in Darfur.

The prosecutor added he was in Ethiopa at the invitation of the AU panel.