Holding Mr. Bashir Accountable

March 7, 2009 Editorial, The New York Times

After the International Criminal Court this week ordered his arrest on war crimes, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, Sudan’s ever-ruthless leader, ordered the expulsion of 13 international aid groups that keep millions of impoverished Sudanese alive with food and medical care. If Mr. Bashir does not reverse the expulsion, it should be considered added proof of his guilt.

It is the first time the 7-year-old court has sought to arrest a sitting head of state. The warrant — for war crimes and crimes against humanity — is undeniably deserved. The judges said that Sudan’s president played an “essential role” in the murder, rape, torture and displacement of large numbers of civilians in Darfur.

We share the concerns of those who fear that Mr. Bashir and his henchmen will now crack down even harder on Darfur — where an estimated 300,000 people have been killed and 2.7 million driven from their homes — and provoke a violent backlash in other parts of Sudan. But the world must not cower before such blackmail. That will not bring stability to Sudan or justice for its victims. There can be no impunity for such atrocities.

The African Union (seeking to protect one of its own), some Arab states (Libya rates special condemnation), and China (mesmerized by Sudan’s oil riches) are pressing the United Nations Security Council to delay the indictment for a year to give peace talks in Darfur a chance. The United States and its allies should block any such move. Mr. Bashir’s defenders have made that same argument ever since the court prosecutor sought the arrest warrant in November. Four months later, government attacks continue, and it is clear that Mr. Bashir has absolutely no interest in peace.

During the campaign, President Obama pledged strong action to halt genocide in Darfur. Strong action is definitely needed.

A United Nations peacekeeping force is still short of troops and equipment. Mr. Obama should press America’s allies to contribute both — and guarantee that the Pentagon will get them there quickly. He should encourage China to stop supplying the weapons wielded by Khartoum’s army and militias and call on the rest of the world to tighten sanctions on Mr. Bashir’s cronies in hopes that they will finally oust him.

Mr. Obama should also name a special envoy to revive a serious peace process. And he should urge all of America’s allies to comply with the arrest order if Mr. Bashir decides to leave Sudan — there is talk that he may try to attend an Arab summit in Qatar later this month. Any country that continues to enable Mr. Bashir should be branded as an accomplice to his many horrors.