UNITED NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network / 14 July 2008 -- The President of Sudan has been the subject of an inquiry by the International Criminal Court for three years over the violence and slaughter that has wracked the county’s Darfur region. Today the ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked for an arrest warrant for President Omar Al-Bashir and offered evidence to charge him with war crimes.

Mr. Moreno-Ocampo has said that he holds that Al-Bashir “bears criminal responsibility in relation to 10 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.” He added that the President’s “motives were largely political. His alibi was a ‘counterinsurgency.’ His intent was genocide.”

Mr. Moreno-Ocampo submitted information to the ICC indicating that Al-Bashir not only condoned the violence but actively devised and executed a genocidal campaign to kill the members of the Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa groups. He has alleged that the Sudanese President directed military personnel and Janjaweed militia to raze villages that were home to undesirable ethnic groups. Mr. Moreno-Ocampo has also said that Al-Bashir launched deliberate strikes against those in refugee camps.

This ethnic cleansing left a death toll in Darfur of 300,000 over more than five years of conflict. Many of those killed were civilians and in addition to deaths in the fighting, many succumbed to illness and poor nutrition. Thousands of women raped. Millions of people throughout the region were driven from their homes.

Mr. Moreno-Ocampo told the ICC that the Sudanese President “mobilised the entire State apparatus, including the armed forces, the intelligence services, the diplomatic and public information bureaucracies, and the justice system” to carry out his genocide. “They all report to him, they all obey him. His control is absolute,” the Prosecutor warned.

Now that the Prosecutor has made his report, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber will consider the evidence offered by Mr. Moreno-Ocampo. They will determine whether an arrest warrant will go out for the Sudanese President. The ICC has never before issued a warrant for a currently serving leader. Mr. Al-Bashir has said that he does not plan to take any action at least until he has actually been indicted.

Today’s ICC hearing will have little immediate effect on the ground in Sudan . The UN will not be suspending or altering its operations there and it has promised to proceed neutrally. The UN said it would be “cooperating in good faith with all partners so as to further the goal of peace and stability in the country.”

But the UN has also said that, “The Secretary-General expects that the Government of Sudan will continue to cooperate fully with the United Nations in Sudan , while fulfilling its obligation to ensure the safety and security of all United Nations personnel and property.”

The UN-African Union force (UNAMID) has likewise pledged to carry on its mission as before. General Martin Luther Agwai told the international community that UNAMID “will continue to conduct patrols and security, as well as protect UN personnel and UN facilities on the ground. In addition, we will continue to assist the humanitarian organizations to do their job of rendering humanitarian services to the people in Darfur .”

The Secretary-General has said that he has no control over the ICC, which is a separate body. During a phone call on Saturday, Ban Ki-Moon was emphatic that he does not have sway over The Hague and the ICC Prosecutor. At the same time, he told Mr. Al-Bashir that he was disquieted by a statement by the Permanent Representative of Sudan that made it appear that the UN missions in the country were connected to the ICC investigation.

However, the Secretary-General said last week that, “In principle, I believe that peace and justice should go hand in hand. Justice can be a part of the peace process, but peace without justice cannot be sustainable.”

The ICC Prosecutor placed the situation of Darfur in relief when he told the Court, “I don’t have the luxury to look away. I have evidence.” We cannot look away either. For five years, the international community has been unable to put a stop to the killing of innocents in Darfur , perhaps the ICC investigation represents a step forward towards holding accountable those responsible for the genocide.

- Caroline Patton

Labels: United Nations, U.N., MaximsNews

 

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