Embassy of Sudan's letter to Rebecca Tinsley and others

Letters - The Guardian, Friday 3 July 2009
Peace In Sudan
By Dr Khalid Almubarak
Embassy of Sudan

Rebecca Tinsley and others (Horror of Bashir's rule in Sudan, Letters, 30 June) against President Omer al-Bashir of Sudan omitted significant facts. First, President Bashir has signed the comprehensive peace agreement of 2005 - which was brokered by the US, UK and others. That put an end to 22 years of civil war. Second, his government signed the Darfur peace agreement of 2006, which could have ended the conflict. Some rebels refused to sign and are prolonging the suffering of the displaced population.

Third, his government has managed to export oil and embark on development despite neoconservative sanctions. Fourth, Bashir heads a national unity government that is leading the country towards elections next year. The progressive electoral law guarantees women 25% of the seats of the assembly and ensures minority parties proportional representation. And fifth, the international criminal court accusations, intended to precipitate regime change, have had the opposite impact. The home front is now solidly behind the president.

In May and June, top-level meetings were held in Qatar and Washington in which the EU and the US were encouraging engagement and co-operation with the government of Sudan and ignoring calls similar to those expressed by Rebecca Tinsley and her co-signatories.

Letters - The Guardian, Tuesday 30 June 2009
Horror of Bashir's rule in Sudan

By Rebecca Tinsley Chair, Waging Peace, Gerhart Baum Former UN special rapporteur on human rights in Sudan, Giles Fraser Canon, St Pauls, Ed Husain Quilliam Foundation, Rabbi Maurice Michaels, Helen Baxendale, Stephen Mangan and six others

Today President al-Bashir celebrates 20 years since the military coup in which he took power in Sudan. In the past two decades he has waged two civil wars, taking the lives of more than 2.6 million people, and displaced a further 6.5 million; he has funded murderous rebel armies in Chad and Uganda; and most recently he has been indicted by the international criminal court for five counts of crimes against humanity and two counts of war crime.

Few of his contemporary dictators can claim so many casualties and such opprobrium. Yet Bashir continues to manipulate even his critics in the international community, setting Russia and China against Europe and the US, and cynically lobbying the African Union and Arab League to back him against the "neocolonialist", "imperialist", "Zionist", western "conspirators". Diplomats struggle to grasp that the architect of such ubiquitous suffering and violence can, at the same time, be a highly skilled diplomat. Bashir is the master of conceding the minimum required just at the right moment to delay concerted actions, such as sanctions, against his regime.

As Bashir enters his third decade in power, we urge the UN and its member states to reflect on the horror and destruction he has brought to his country and not to allow the suffering of the Sudanese people to be forgotten. Only a coherent, concerted and consistent policy towards Bashir will deliver peace and justice to the people of Sudan.

Further reading
Mar 04, 2009 - Sudan Watch: Waging Peace submitted more than 500 children’s drawings of Darfur that were accepted by ICC as evidence in any trial

ICC's Ocampo: "What happened in Darfur is the consequence of extermination plan defined by the top authority -- Mr. Omar el-Bashir"

British Palestinian QC Michel Massih, who is leading Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir's international defence team, has criticized the way the International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo publicized his accusations against the Sudanese president. Massih, who has been practicing international law for 30 years, told Arab News Broadcast, “I have never heard in my legal career of a chief prosecutor that launches media campaigns against a defendant, regardless of the nature of the charges.”

Note the following report from Voice of America News and the quotes that I have highlighted in red. Not much of it makes sense to me. One wonders if Mr Moreno-Ocampo is mentally unhinged.

From Voice of America News
ICC Chief Prosecutor: Sudan's Bashir Will Face Justice
By Lisa Bryant
Paris
03 April 2009

Photo: ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo gives a press conference in The Hague, 04 Mar 2009

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir continues to defy an international arrest warrant, recently returning from an Arab League meeting in Qatar. But the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, says he is confident Mr. Bashir will be brought to justice. Lisa Bryant spoke with Moreno-Ocampo in The Hague.

The International Criminal Court issued the arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir in early March. It is the first arrest warrant against a sitting head of state and charges the Sudanese leader with war crimes and crimes against humanity. Those crimes center of the conflict in Darfur, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced almost three million.

But so far, the only major impact the arrest warrant seems to have generated is Mr. Bashir's decision to expel more than a dozen international humanitarian groups working in Darfur, a desolate, impoverished stretch of land in western Sudan.

Since the arrest warrant was issued, the Sudanese president has so far visited Egypt, Eritrea, Libya and Saudi Arabia. He also attended an Arab League meeting in Qatar -- where Arab leaders, at least publicly, expressed their solidarity for Mr. Bashir. None of these countries are members of the Hague-based court.

But the man who delivered the warrant -- the criminal court's chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo -- is adamant he did the right thing. He directly blames Mr. Bashir for the Darfur crisis.

"What happened in Darfur is not a humanitarian crisis. What happened in Darfur is not crimes committed by autonomous militias. What happened in Darfur is the consequence of extermination plan defined by the top authority -- Mr. Omar el-Bashir," he said.

Mr. Bashir is one of the first cases the Netherlands-based criminal court has taken on since it began holding trials this year. The court is the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal. Moreno-Ocampo says the United Nations Security Council referred the Darfur crisis to the court. In issuing the arrest warrant, he said, the court has done its job.

Now, he says, it's up to the international community to act.

"We are not calling for military intervention. We are not calling for bombing. But we are also not calling for nothing. We are not calling for denial. We are not calling for silence. between bombing and nothing there are a lot of alternatives," he said.

Moreno-Ocampo says there has already been some reaction, with countries calling on Sudan to explain its decision to expel humanitarian workers. He suggests Arab countries are also quietly criticizing Sudan -- even as they present a united face in public.

And he believes that sooner or later, the court will try President Bashir.

"Omar el-Bashir knows his destiny is to face justice. He's tainted now. The problem is, how many people will die in the [meantime]," he said.

For its part, the United Nations warns that expelling foreign relief workers from Darfur could have a devastating impact on those living there. Mr. Bashir claim the workers were spies who helped the court mount war crimes charges against him.

Further reading:

Apr 03, 2009 - Sudan Watch: ICC's Registrar returns from fact-finding mission concerning Sudanese refugees in Treguine and Breddjing camps in Chad

Apr 02, 2009 - Making Sense of Darfur: A Waste of Hope by Julie Flint and Alex de Waal. Copy:

Those who believe in justice, truth and accountability should demand the highest professional and ethical standards of the Prosecutor of the ICC. Any failings in these respects can do incalculable damage to the prospects for justice, and the future of the ICC. We believe that the Prosecutor of the ICC isn’t up to the job and it is time to be frank about his shortcomings. And we are not alone. Many groups that support the ICC publicly are privately concerned by Luis Moreno Ocampo’s management of the Court. Some of his most capable and committed staff have quit, in exasperation and despair at his performance. Kofi Annan described the ICC as a ‘gift of hope’ to the world. It can still become that. You can read our account in World Affairs.

Apr 02, 2009 - Sudan Watch: British lawyer leading Sudanese president's int'l defence team says Article 6 of UN Security Resolution 1593 is meaningless

Apr 01, 2009 - Sudan Watch: If UN Security Council does not cancel ICC proceedings against Sudan's Bashir, ICC or its Prosecutor Moreno-Ocampo must go

Mar 27, 2009 - Sudan Watch: Making Sense of Darfur: Grading the ICC Prosecutor-And the Bench (Alex de Waal and Julie Flint)

Mar 21, 2009 - Sudan Watch: ICC's Ocampo denies getting any help or information from NGOs in Darfur and says Sudan expulsions 'confirm crimes'. Excerpt:

Note that a report filed here at Sudan Watch [March 04, 2009 -
Waging Peace submitted more than 500 children’s drawings of Darfur that were accepted by ICC as evidence in any trial] claims that last year, UK based rights group Waging Peace submitted more than 500 children’s pictures of Darfur war that were accepted by the ICC as contextual evidence to be used in any trial. Waging Peace collected the drawings from refugees in Chad.

Jan 26, 2009 - Sudan Watch: ICC's case against Sudan's President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir is a mess riddled with flaws - UNSC must invoke Article 16

AU's Mbeki and US's Gration arrive in Sudan - ICC registrar visits Sudanese refugees in Chad

The Head of the African Union's special panel for Darfur, former South African president Thabo Mbeki, arrived in Khartoum on Wednesday evening (01 April) and was scheduled to meet Sudanese officials. Mr Mbeki is now scheduled to meet Sudanese government authorities, Darfur rebels and neighbouring states and submit a progress report to African Union in the next four months. Mr Mbeki was appointed as the Head of the AU High Level Panel on Darfur last month by the AU.

By my reckoning, the next four months ends in July. News of the Abyei Boundary Commission's report is expected to emerge by June of this year.

According to the below copied article from the Sudan Tribune, the ICC's registrar, Silvana Arbia, has been in Chad since Monday (30 March) where she told Sudanese refugees that victims will have rights before the court to participate in the judicial process, and described how they would be able to obtain reparations. See related story here below from Sudan Watch archives re "ICC's Ocampo denies getting any help or information from NGOs in Darfur": UK based rights group Waging Peace submitted more than 500 children’s pictures of Darfur war that were accepted by the ICC as contextual evidence to be used in any trial. Waging Peace collected the drawings from refugees in Chad.

Early today, (Thursday, 02 April) the new US envoy to Sudan, Scott Gration, arrived in Khartoum for a week-long tour that is expected to include visits to Darfur in west Sudan, Juba, the capital of south Sudan, and Abyei an oil-rich area between north and south Sudan.

Note that South Africa has opened a new Consulate-General in Juba in Southern Sudan. South African exports to Sudan, which include base metals, machinery, wood pulp, plastics and chemicals, have increased over the past year from R463-million in 2007 to R718-million in 2008.

This month, Mexico assumes UN Security Council Presidency from Libya.

Source: the following reports.

April 02, 2009 report from the Daily Nation, Kenya's leading newspaper:
Mbeki in Sudan for Darfur peace talks
By Argaw Ashine, Nation Correspondent (ADDIS ABABA)

Head of African Union special panel for Darfur, former South African president Thabo Mbeki, arrived in Sudan to begin the search for a lasting solution in the conflict raged region of Darfur.

Mbeki arrived in Khartoum on Wednesday evening and was scheduled to meet Sudanese officials. He will also visit the Darfur region.

According to AU Peace and Security Council sources, Mbeki will hold a series of talks with tribal leaders, displaced peoples' representatives, UN and AU peacekeepers, political parties and civil society representatives.

The AU panel for Darfur, inaugurated at the end of March 2009 in Addis Ababa, aimed at fighting impunity and ensuring accountability in the region

Thabo Mbeki and his strong African eminent personalities Darfur panel planned to achieve a three-pillar objective of expediting the peace process, installing justice and start reconciliation process among the warring parties in Sudan.

Mr Mbeki, who mediated the Zimbabwe political crisis, is now scheduled to meet Sudanese government authorities, Darfur rebels and neighbouring states and submit a progress report to African Union in the next four months.

Mbeki has faced sharp criticism for his “soft” stand against Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe during his mediation effort, but he defended the criticism by saying the mediation was successful and achieved the intended result.

Mbeki dismissed criticism that he might have another “soft” stand on Sudanese president Omar Al Bashir, who has been charged with war crimes, and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court. The ICC issued an arrest warrant on Al Bashir March 4 this year.

“I am not starting a responsibility of defending any criticism” Mbeki said during his recent visit to Addis Ababa.

Mbeki said his team's responsibility is to produce the required result based on the mandate given from AU.

He stressed the value of reconciliation in healing wounds and to bring lasting peace rather than retaliation, as his country South Africa did after the fall of Apartheid.

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April 02, 2009 article from Sudan Tribune, France based pro rebel newsonline:
ICC registrar visits Sudanese refugees in Chad

April 1, 2009 (WASHINGTON) – The registrar of the International Criminal Court, Silvana Arbia, arrived Wednesday in the Sudanese refugee camps Treguine and Bredjing in eastern Chad, meeting with camp authorities and explaining about the warrant of arrest against President Omer Al-Bashir, according to a press statement.

The world court (ICC), which claims jurisdiction in Darfur because the UN Security Council referred the case to it in 2005, aims to try Bashir on seven counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The registrar is the principal administrative officer of the court, elected by the judges. It is her responsibility to set up the Victims and Witnesses Unit, according to the Rome Statute that governs the court. In consultation with the Office of the Prosecutor, this unit provides protective measures and security arrangements, counselling and other appropriate assistance for witnesses, victims who appear before the court, and others who are at risk on account of testimony given by such witnesses.

She is also responsible for overseeing the court’s outreach programmes, which are designed to communicate with communities affected by the situations that are subject to investigations or proceedings.

Arbia, who began her visit to Chad on Monday for a four day visit, met with mostly Masalit refugees, women’s groups representatives, and very many victims, stated the ICC statement. Questioned by the refugees as to how the arrest warrant would be executed, the ICC official responded that the Court will pursue efforts to obtain the cooperation of states so as to ensure that Omer Al Bashir is arrested and transferred to the ICC.

“The arrest warrant will be implemented,” she declared, underscoring that the court is a permanent institution and that justice will take its course even if he is a Head of State. Arbia also reviewed the other arrest warrants issued in relation with the Darfur case, against a militia leader and a minister of state.

She further told refugees that victims will have rights before the court to participate in the judicial process, and described how they would be able to obtain reparations. (ST)

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April 02, 2009 report from AFP by Guillaume Lavallee via zawya.com:
US envoy kicks off Sudan visit

KHARTOUM, Apr 02, 2009 (AFP) - US envoy Scott Gration began an official visit to Sudan on Thursday as President Barack Obama turned up the heat on Sudanese leader Omar al-Beshir to allow aid groups back into war-torn Darfur.

The retired air force general arrived in Khartoum early Thursday for a week-long visit, a month after an international arrest warrant was issued against Beshir for war crimes committed in the western Sudanese region.

Beshir expelled 13 international aid groups from Darfur after the International Criminal Court issued the warrant for him on March 4.

Obama, speaking after meeting with his special envoy on Monday, said he hoped to find a way for humanitarian workers to resume their work in Darfur.

"We have to figure out a mechanism to get those NGOs back in place, to reverse that decision, or to find some mechanism whereby we avert an enormous humanitarian crisis," Obama said.

International aid agencies distribute food, offer medical aid and provide access to water to some 2.7 million people displaced by the civil war in Darfur.

The Sudanese president remained defiant about his government's decision to expel the aid agencies from Darfur in response to the ICC arrest warrant.

"In one year we will Sudanise all the aid on the ground and we can fill the gap in food distribution within one year because the Sudanese Red Crescent already distributes 45 percent of the food in Darfur," Beshir said during a visit to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.

On his Khartoum visit, Gration is due to meet with senior officials from the foreign ministry and could possibly meet Beshir, a foreign ministry spokesman said.

"The US embassy told us clearly that (Gration) was here to listen. We don't expect him to come with a plan," Ali Sadiq told AFP.

Gration is expected to visit Darfur over the weekend.

Obama had said that his envoy was to try to kickstart discussions between rebels and the government in order to reach a solution to the Darfur conflict, where 300,000 lives have been lost since 2003 and more than two million people displaced.

Sudan puts the death toll from the six-year war at only 10,000.

The Darfur question has garnered much attention in the United States, where groups like "Save Darfur" are pushing for a solution to the crisis.

The Sudanese government and the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) signed an agreement in Doha in February aimed at holding peace talks, but JEM has indicated that it would back out if Khartoum does not authorise the return of the aid agencies.

Gration is also expected to visit Juba, the capital of south Sudan and Abyei, the oil-rich area between north and south Sudan where fighting last year threatened a return to Sudan's two-decade civil war which only ended with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005.

Sudanese-US relations have been strained since the mid-90s.

The US had accused Sudan of harbouring Al-Qaeda members and in 1997 imposed sanctions against the country before launching a missile strike on Khartoum one year later. gl/jaz/cjo/bpz

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April 02, 2009 report from BuaNews-Xinhua by Bathandwa Mbola:
SA opens new Consulate-General in Sudan

Sudan - South African has opened a Consulate-General in Juba in Southern Sudan.

The new mission will contribute to facilitating the movement of business people between the two countries, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The department said the Consulate will consolidate South Africa's presence in the Sudan and strengthen the support for peace efforts and the implementation of post-conflict reconstruction and development related projects in Southern Sudan.

Having a greater presence in the country will also aid in the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which was signed in 2005 marking an end to the civil strife in the Sudan.

South Africa is involved in the post-conflict reconstruction and development in respect of capacity and institution building.

To date, over 1000 Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) officials have been trained in public service and administration, judiciary and legal affairs and government communication, among others.

South Africa has deployed peacekeepers and civilian police in Darfur as part of the United Nations-African Union Peacekeeping Mission in Sudan (UNAMID) and continues to support the Darfur peace efforts through bilateral and multilateral mechanisms.

Meanwhile, former President Thabo Mbeki on Wednesday, arrived in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on an African Union (AU) mission to help resolve the conflict in the Darfur region.

Mr Mbeki was appointed as the Head of the AU High Level Panel on Darfur last month by the AU.

South African exports to Sudan, which include base metals, machinery, wood pulp, plastics and chemicals, have increased over the past year from R463-million in 2007 to R718-million in 2008. - BuaNews-Xinhua

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Mexico to Assume UN Security Council Presidency
ISRIA (subscription) - ‎1 hour ago‎
In April, the Security Council will analyze the situation in Chad and the Central African Republic, Guinea Bissau, the Congo, Western Sahara, Sudan, ...
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Further reading

Sudan Watch March 21, 2009: ICC's Ocampo denies getting any help or information from NGOs in Darfur and says Sudan expulsions 'confirm crimes'

According to the following report from Aljazeera today, the International Criminal Court's (ICC) chief prosecutor denied getting any help or information from NGOs in Darfur. But the report makes no mention of those who worked in Chad and in other countries outside of Sudan.

Note that a report filed here at Sudan Watch [March 4, 2009 - Waging Peace submitted more than 500 children’s drawings of Darfur that were accepted by ICC as evidence in any trial] claims that last year, UK based rights group Waging Peace submitted more than 500 children’s pictures of Darfur war that were accepted by the ICC as contextual evidence to be used in any trial. Waging Peace collected the drawings from refugees in Chad.

ICC's Ocampo denies getting any help or information from NGOs in Darfur and says Sudan expulsions 'confirm crimes'

According to the following report from Aljazeera today, the International Criminal Court's (ICC) chief prosecutor denied getting any help or information from NGOs in Darfur. But the report makes no mention of those who worked in Chad and in other countries outside of Sudan.

Note that a report filed here at Sudan Watch [March 4, 2009 - Waging Peace submitted more than 500 children’s drawings of Darfur that were accepted by ICC as evidence in any trial] claims that last year, UK based rights group Waging Peace submitted more than 500 children’s pictures of Darfur war that were accepted by the ICC as contextual evidence to be used in any trial. Waging Peace collected the drawings from refugees in Chad.

March 21, 2009 report from Aljazeera/Agencies:
Sudan expulsions 'confirm crimes'

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, has criticised the Sudanese president's decision to expel 13 aid agencies from the country.

Moreno-Ocampo said that the ejection of the non-governmental organisations proves that the ICC was correct to pursue Omar al-Bashir, Sudan's president, on war-crimes charges.

The Netherlands-based court granted Moreno-Ocampo's request earlier this month for a warrant for al-Bashir's arrest on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan's western Darfur region.

Al-Bashir's government has been battling ethnic African groups in Darfur since 2003 and he has been accused of orchestrating atrocities against civilians.

"This idea to expel the humanitarians is confirming the court decision," Moreno-Ocampo said in New York after the UN Security Council met to receive an updated assessment on the Darfur crisis.

"Expelling them is confirming the crimes."

Reversal rejected

Khartoum ordered the aid agencies out of Darfur after the ICC issued the arrest warrant, and has ruled out reversing that decision, despite pressure from the US and UN Security Council members.

"The decision of the government of Sudan is a legitimate sovereign decision which we will never reverse," Mohamed Yousif Ibrahim Abdelmannan, Sudan's envoy to the UN, told the council on Friday.

"This should not be a issue for discussion."

The UK, Austria, Uganda and several other countries have appealed to Khartoum to rethink its position.

A rebel group in Darfur, meanwhile, announced that it was pulling out of peace talks with the Sudanese government after the aid agencies were expelled.

"The movement cannot negotiate with the government of al-Bashir," Khalil Ibrahim, the leader of the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem), told the Reuters news agency by telephone on Friday.

Jem signed a deal with the Sudanese government after talks in the Qatari capital, Doha, last month, under which both sides agreed to undertake "good faith" measures.

"There was supposed to be a conference [in Doha] after three weeks but we will not go," Ibrahim said.

'Free prisoners'

Ibrahim said the government must allow the expelled aid agencies back into Darfur and free Jem prisoners before talks could resume.

Ibrahim signed a 'good faith deal' with Sudan after talks in Qatar last month [EPA] Rashid Khalikov, a senior UN humanitarian affairs official, told the council on Friday there were "significant signs of an erosion of humanitarian response capacity, with a concurrent impact on the lives of people in Darfur" since the 13 foreign and three domestic NGOs were expelled.

UN officials say the banished aid groups accounted for around half of the aid-distribution capacity in Darfur.

Sudan says the aid groups, including Oxfam, Save the Children and Care, helped the ICC issue the arrest warrant.

The groups reject the charge.

Moreno-Ocampo said he had received no help or information from NGOs or UN agencies in his investigation.

JEM seem to energetically welcome any excuse not to participate in peace talks.
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Report from Alarabiya.net Saturday, 21 March 2009:
US says Bashir responsible for Darfur deaths

The United States demanded late on Friday that the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir “be held accountable for each and every death" in Darfur following his decision to expel foreign aid groups.

"President Bashir and his government are responsible for and must be held accountable for each and every death caused by these callous and calculated actions," Washington's U.N. ambassador Susan Rice told the U.N. Security Council during a briefing on the humanitarian crisis in Sudan's strife-torn western region.

"We urge the international community to press the government of Sudan to reverse its expulsion edict and to ensure it does nothing to worsen an already grave situation," Rice said. "President Bashir created this crisis…He should rectify it immediately."

Without giving details, Rice told reporters after the meeting that Washington was consulting with council members and other U.N. member states on "appropriate next steps."

British, Austrian, Ugandan and several other envoys also appealed to Khartoum to rethink its position. They cited a bleak report on the humanitarian situation in Darfur from Rashid Khalikov, a senior official of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

But the Chinese and Libyan delegates were more cautious, focusing on the negative impact of the ICC arrest warrant.

British Ambassador John Sawers also had tough words for Khartoum, saying: "The United Kingdom will hold the government of Sudan responsible for the suffering that their decision causes."

The U.S. delegation requested Friday's briefing by Khalikov, who warned of "significant signs of an erosion of humanitarian response capacity, with a concurrent impact on the lives of people in Darfur."

Rice said Khartoum "owns its consequences, which will not only cost lives but leave the government locked deeper in an isolation of its own making."

Defiant Sudan

Several other ambassadors appealed to Khartoum to rescind the expulsion order. But Mohamed Yousif Abdelmannan, a Sudanese U.N. delegate, reiterated that his government's decision was irreversible.

"The decision of the government of Sudan is a legitimate sovereign decision which we will never reverse, and this should not be an issue for discussion," the Sudanese diplomat told the council.

Earlier Khalikov said the world body was still pressing for a reversal of the NGOs expulsion and recalled that a series of joint U.N.-Sudan assessments of the situation in three Darfur states was underway.

"The findings will be finalized this weekend with government counterparts in Khartoum," he noted. "We should be able to speak more next week about their impact on the wider assistance effort in Darfur."

"There is no doubt that our ability to help the people of Darfur and northern Sudan has been seriously compromised," the OCHA official said. "The current atmosphere of fear and uncertainty facing all aid organizations is affecting the assistance available to the people of Darfur."

Visiting ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who observed Friday's council proceedings, said Bashir, by expelling the humanitarian aid groups, "is confirming the crime" of extermination.

"The king is naked," Moreno-Ocampo said, referring to Bashir. "It is not my responsibility that the king is naked."

The United Nations says that 300,000 people have died and 2.7 million have been made homeless by the conflict in Darfur which erupted in February 2003.