Leaders of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries on Friday called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor to suspend efforts to indict Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on genocide charges. Ghanaian President John Kufuor, who hosted a meeting of the 79-strong ACP grouping, said the summit had resolved that it was better to use diplomatic rather than legal initiatives. "We believe there should be room for more diplomatic efforts" to resolve the crisis in Darfur, said Kufuor.On Wednesday ICC prosecutors sought to persuade a panel of judges to grant their request for a warrant for Bashir.
In July, chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked the court for an arrest warrant for Bashir on 10 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
In a draft resolution, the ACP leaders had called for "the withdrawal of the ICC demarche to allow for political diplomatic efforts," but according to Kufuor they finally agreed to change the wording to replace "withdrawal" with "suspension."