The European Union has condemned Djibouti and Uganda for not surrendering Sudan’s president Omar Al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court when he visited the two countries recently.

Al-Bashir has been wanted by the ICC for crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide in Darfur since 2005.

With the issuance of two ICC arrest warrants in 2009 and 2010, al-Bashir became the first ever sitting head of state to be wanted by an international court.

This was also the first genocide charge ever brought by the ICC.

While several ICC member states have since hosted al-Bashir contrary to their obligations to arrest ICC fugitives, his international travel has been greatly curtailed by the threat of legal action, often instigated by national civil society groups.

Last week, Al-Bashir attended the launch of the first phase of Africa’s biggest free-trade zone in Djibouti with several other African heads of state.

He also went to Uganda over the weekend to mediate South Sudan peace talks.

“The European Union and its Member States regret that Djibouti and Uganda, both States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), did not comply with their obligations under international law and as State Parties to the ICC and did not surrender President Al-Bashir to the Court,” read a statement by the High Representative of the EU.

It called upon all member-states of the United Nations to abide by, and implement the resolutions adopted by the Security Council on the situation in Darfur.