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Summary
Chad has accused the International Criminal Court of only targeting African leaders, as it justifies its decision not to arrest Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir. The ICC accuses Mr Bashir of war crimes and genocide - which he denies. Chad is the first ICC signatory Mr Bashir has visited since he was indicted in 2009. All of the five cases the ICC is currently dealing with are in Africa but Hague-based court says it is up to member states to refer cases for it to investigate. It was set up to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. The ICC's chief prosecutor rejects the accusation of bias against Africa, saying not only are the worst crimes being committed in the continent, but the victims are also African. The African Union and the Arab League have always opposed the ICC's decision to issue the arrest warrants issued over the conflict in Darfur. Chad's ambassador Ahmat Mahamat Bachir said it was merely following the AU's lead, despite a storm of protest from human rights groups.
