Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese President, made a pilgrimage to Mecca yesterday, threatening the credibility of the International Criminal Court, which has issued a warrant for his arrest. Mr al-Bashir's journey to Saudi Arabia was his most daring act of defiance since he became the first sitting head of state to be named a fugitive from international justice last month and the court's highest-profile target.

The court, designed to dispense justice based on the premise that there are universal moral standards that apply to all human behaviour, wants Mr al-Bashir to face trial for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Sudanese region of Darfur.

While the 108 member nations that signed up to support the International Criminal Court (ICC) have a duty to arrest him, Mr al-Bashir has visited five countries since the warrant was issued - all non-ICC members - as he tries to polarise views against the court by portraying it as a vehicle for Western interference in Arab and African nations.

The ICC's four current cases are all against Africans, which some believe presents it with an image problem that Mr al-Bashir is doing his best to exploit. The court's supporters are now prepared for at least one African nation to withdraw its support from the world's first permanent court for international justice after Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader and President of the African Union (AU), called it “a new world terrorism” this week.

Mr al-Bashir was given a boost by the Arab League at the conclusion of its summit, which he attended in Qatar on Monday. “We reiterate our solidarity with Sudan and our rejection of the measure of the ... International Criminal Court against his Excellency,” it said in its final statement.

Embarrassingly Ban Ki Moon, the United Nations Secretary-General, was also at the summit and in the same room as Mr al-Bashir, though he was careful to avoid any contact. The UN set up the process that led to the creation of the court under the Rome statute of 1998.

Mr al-Bashir's visit to Mecca, a short distance from Qatar, was said by the Saudi press agency to be a minor pilgrimage known as omra, in which he met officials from the Grand Mosque. The trip may help Mr al-

Bashir cement support throughout the wider Islamic world, further eroding the court's authority.

Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi Foreign Minister, has said that issuing the warrant was a politicised decision that would not lead to the stability of Sudan or “solve the Darfur issue”.

The International Coalition for the ICC, which represents the court's supporters, criticised those nations which welcomed Mr al-Bashir and scorned his attempts to drive a wedge between the Arab world and the court.

“He probably has a great deal to ask forgiveness for, if that is one of the purposes of going to Mecca,” said Bill Pace, chairman of the coalition. “It is too early to say if the recognition by the Arab governments of Mr al-Bashir will hurt the ICC more than it will hurt the reputation of the Arab League and governments.

“It was expected that an arrest warrant for a sitting head of state would create tremendous controversy, and not only in the Arab world, but wherever leaders have fear of justice.”

It is in Africa, where Mr al-Bashir has visited his neighbours Egypt, Eritrea and Libya, where fears are most acute that one of the continent's 33 signatories to the ICC will withdraw. The AU, representing 53 countries on the continent, pressured the ICC to delay issuing its arrest warrant against Mr al-Bashir for at least a year to avoid jeopardising the Sudanese peace process.

Jean Ping, the AU commissioner, is close to the Government of his native Gabon, an ICC signatory that some believe could be the first to walk away. Critics of the court are urging it to find non-African cases but that process will take time.

Mr al-Bashir has closed down 16 aid groups in Sudan since the arrest warrant was issued on March 4 and appears to have strengthened his grip. “If there was an election now he would win it. The people admire a strong man and he has also managed to show himself as a victim of the West,” said Faizal Silaik, deputy editor of the daily newspaper Ajras al-Huriya.

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