The African Union (AU) has reiterated its position not to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The Assembly of the AU urged “all Member States to comply with Assembly Decisions on the warrants of arrest issued by the ICC against President Bashir of The Sudan,” said the decision, issued at the end of January during the 18th AU Summit in Addis Ababa.

The AU wants ICC proceedings against Sudan’s leader—as well as the court’s Kenya case--deferred to an African state by the UN Security Council. In calling on its members to abide by its decisions, the AU said that “by receiving President Bashir, the Republic of Malawi, like Djibouti, Chad and Kenya before her, were implementing various AU Assembly Decisons on non-cooperation with the ICC.”

The AU’s decision followed a letter sent by more than 40 African NGOs before the summit, urging the AU to support the ICC and respect its decisions, which it said were “of paramount importance to preserve the court’s effectiveness and ability to deliver justice.”

The AU is considering asking the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for an advisory opinion on the matter of the immunity of state officials. It also expressed “regret” that only one of the two African candidates it endorsed was elected as an ICC judge.

It seems that the December 2011 election of Gambian Fatou Bensouda to be the court’s new chief prosecutor has not done much to ease relations between the AU and the ICC.