The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor this week urged the UN Security Council to take action over a number of outstanding arrest warrants.
“I call on this Council to prioritise action on the outstanding warrants of arrest issued by the Court,” Fatou Bensouda told the Security Council in New York.
"There can be no justification for States Parties to fail to arrest a suspect against whom an ICC warrant of arrest has been issued, irrespective of that person's official status," she added.
Her comments came a day after the Pre-Trial Chamber II deemed that Japan had been non-compliant by allowing the Sudanese president, Omar Al Bashir into the counry without arrest in March this year. Japan is a non-permanent member.
“This costly inaction has the potential to undermine the fight against impunity, the effect of which is to lower the bar of accountability that many have fought to raise,” Ms Bensouda said.
“This continuous nonfeasance only serves to embolden others to invite Mr Al Bashir to their territory, safe in the knowledge that there will be no consequences from this Council for such breaches,” she added.
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