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| U.S. Struggles With Sudan President’s Effort to Attend U.N. Meetings | U.S. Struggles With Sudan President’s Effort to Attend U.N. Meetings |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The application for a visa to attend the annual session of the United Nations General Assembly by President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan has put Washington in a diplomatic predicament. | |
| As the host country of the United Nations, the United States has an obligation to issue visas for members of delegations, regardless of any disputes with individual countries. In the past, visas have been granted to world leaders despite profound disputes between their nations and the United States, including Fidel Castro of Cuba, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, and Nikita Khrushchev of the Soviet Union. | As the host country of the United Nations, the United States has an obligation to issue visas for members of delegations, regardless of any disputes with individual countries. In the past, visas have been granted to world leaders despite profound disputes between their nations and the United States, including Fidel Castro of Cuba, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, and Nikita Khrushchev of the Soviet Union. |
| But Mr. Bashir has been charged at the International Criminal Court with genocide and other crimes linked to the conflict in the western Darfur region of Sudan, where an estimated 200,000 people were killed and more than two million were uprooted by almost a decade of fighting between the government and rebels. | But Mr. Bashir has been charged at the International Criminal Court with genocide and other crimes linked to the conflict in the western Darfur region of Sudan, where an estimated 200,000 people were killed and more than two million were uprooted by almost a decade of fighting between the government and rebels. |
| On Monday, Samantha Power, the American ambassador to the United Nations, confirmed that the United States had received Mr. Bashir’s visa application. Ms. Power told reporters that it would be “deplorable, cynical and hugely inappropriate” for him to try to attend the session in New York. | On Monday, Samantha Power, the American ambassador to the United Nations, confirmed that the United States had received Mr. Bashir’s visa application. Ms. Power told reporters that it would be “deplorable, cynical and hugely inappropriate” for him to try to attend the session in New York. |
| “It would be more appropriate for him to present himself to the I.C.C. and travel to The Hague,” she told reporters, referring to the International Criminal Court, where Mr. Bashir faces 10 counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. | “It would be more appropriate for him to present himself to the I.C.C. and travel to The Hague,” she told reporters, referring to the International Criminal Court, where Mr. Bashir faces 10 counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. |
| Rights groups have followed suit. On Wednesday, Elise Keppler, associate international justice program director at Human Rights Watch, said it was imperative for the United Nations Security Council to oppose Mr. Bashir’s attendance. | Rights groups have followed suit. On Wednesday, Elise Keppler, associate international justice program director at Human Rights Watch, said it was imperative for the United Nations Security Council to oppose Mr. Bashir’s attendance. |
| “If al-Bashir turns up at the U.N. General Assembly, it will be a brazen challenge to Security Council efforts to promote justice for crimes in Darfur,” she said in a statement. “The last thing the U.N. needs is a visit by an I.C.C. fugitive.” | “If al-Bashir turns up at the U.N. General Assembly, it will be a brazen challenge to Security Council efforts to promote justice for crimes in Darfur,” she said in a statement. “The last thing the U.N. needs is a visit by an I.C.C. fugitive.” |
| In March 2009, judges at the International Criminal Court ordered Mr. Bashir’s arrest, charging him with war crimes and crimes against humanity for playing an “essential role” in the murder, rape, torture, pillage and displacement of large numbers of civilians in Darfur. In 2010, the court issued a second arrest warrant for Mr. Bashir, that time for three counts of genocide. | In March 2009, judges at the International Criminal Court ordered Mr. Bashir’s arrest, charging him with war crimes and crimes against humanity for playing an “essential role” in the murder, rape, torture, pillage and displacement of large numbers of civilians in Darfur. In 2010, the court issued a second arrest warrant for Mr. Bashir, that time for three counts of genocide. |
| While he has taken some international trips since then, Mr. Bashir has been forced to skip other events abroad because of the charges. | While he has taken some international trips since then, Mr. Bashir has been forced to skip other events abroad because of the charges. |
| In July of this year, Mr. Bashir made a brief appearance at an African Union summit meeting in Nigeria but vanished after human rights groups filed a lawsuit calling for his immediate detention on an international arrest warrant for charges of genocide. | |
Marlise Simons and Christine Hauser contributed reporting. | Marlise Simons and Christine Hauser contributed reporting. |