President Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur, Western Sudan.
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) declared in a statement signed by its Executive Secretary, Mahboub Maalim Tuesday that ‘'courts cannot work in a vacuum and decision has to be rendered considering the law and balancing it with the wider IGAD regional interests.'' Members of IGAD include Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.
‘'The warrant issued by the Kenyan High Court (...) puts the fragile peace processes undertaken by IGAD at great risk,'' cautioned the statement.
‘'IGAD believes that solutions to these issues are not judicial but political in nature and therefore should be approached with great sensitivity to the challenges currently affecting the IGAD region,'' the statement added.
The organization reiterated the African Union (AU) position on this matter : "the search for justice should be pursued in a manner not detrimental to the search for peace."
Kenyan government on Tuesday announced plans to appeal the decision.
NI/ER/GF
© Hirondelle News Agency
