Sudan takes 1st step towards joining International Criminal Court

Cabinet backs draft bill to join founding treaty of ICC, but the decision needs sovereign council approval.

The Sudanese cabinet has voted to ratify the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court (ICC), a move bringing closer the possibility of former longtime President Omar al-Bashir facing trial for genocide. Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said in a statement on Twitter the draft bill to join the Rome Statute of The Hague-based court was passed “unanimously”. Following the military’s overthrow of al-Bashir in 2019, in the wake of mass protests against his rule, Sudan has been led by a transitional civilian-military administration that has pledged to bring justice to victims of crimes committed under the former president.