7/29/2019 Joint Letter to Chad Pres Deby on Bashir's Visit

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His Excellency Hon. Idriss Deby March 14, 2013President of the Republic of Chad

Ndjamena, Chad

Your Excellency,

We, the undersigned, write to convey our deep concern about your decision last month to welcome

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to Chad for a summit of the Sahel-Saharan states and to stronglyoppose another reported visit by Bashir to attend the African Greenbelt Conference next week.

As you know, President Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges ofgenocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur. The failure of the internationalcommunity to bring President Bashir to justice has resulted in the ongoing commission of atrocitiesagainst the Sudanese peoplefirst in Darfur, and now in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states.

As Chad is a state party to the Rome Statute, we strongly urge the Chadian government to abide by itsinternational and moral obligations to rescind the invitation for President Bashir to travel to Chad. Furtherto your international human rights obligations, if President Bashir does arrive in Chad, we urge you toimmediately arrest and surrender him to the ICC upon his arrival.

Next weeks visit would be the fourth since the ICC arrest warrants for Bashir were released, giving Chadthe dubious distinction of being the ICC state party that has welcomed Bashir more than any other sincethe issuance of the arrest warrant against him, and the only one to do so twice within the span of just overa month.

Chads strategic importance and influence in the region make it imperative that the Chadian governmentdemonstrate its support for civilian protection and justice for victims of atrocities in neighboring Sudan.

Providing President Bashir with safe haven at this time only serves to embolden a regime that continuesto bomb civilian areas and cut off humanitarian aid to those in dire need. Welcoming President Bashir - a

fugitive from justice - to Chad not only sends the wrong message to the Sudanese people, including thosewho live as refugees in Chad, but to perpetrators around the world.

We encourage Chad to join with Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, and Zambia as countries thathave indicated they would not welcome Bashir and arrest him if he were to visit. We hope that you will

take this opportunity to demonstrate your commitment to human rights, justice and peace by standing upfor the people of Sudan and South Sudan - rescind the invitation for President Bashir to travel to Chad orfulfill your obligations by immediately arresting President Bashir upon arrival. Thank you for your

prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Amnesty International USA Enough ProjectCoalition for the International Criminal Court with Physicians for Human Rightsoffices in Democratic Republic of the Congo and Benin United to End Genocide

CC: H.E. Ambassador Maitine Djoumbe

H.E. Ambassador Ahmad Allam-mi