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UN “MUST BE
PREPARED” FOR POSSIBLE ICC ARREST WARRANT FOR SUDANESE PRESIDENT OMAR
AL-BASHIR, BY CAROLINE PATTON:
03/12/2008
(MaximsNews Network)
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UNITED
NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network / 03
December 2008 -- In
July, International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked for the
court to issue an arrest warrant for Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir, who is
accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
Mr.
Moreno-Ocampo told the international community
today that in the region of Darfur, “Genocide continues. Rapes in and around
the camps continue. Humanitarian assistance is
still hindered. More than 5,000 displaced
persons die each month.”
The
conflict there has been ongoing since 2003 and
the death toll from violence by government
soldiers, Janjaweed fighters, and other
insurgent groups is now a shocking 300,000
people. In addition, about 2.7 million
Sudanese living in Dafur had to flee from the
fighting.
The
ICC Prosecutor opined that the Sudanese
President had hidden the government’s
involvement in the killing of people in
Darfur
behind the pretense that the Janjaweed and
rebels are independent of the state and had
cast the fighting as due to tribal conflict in
order to “continue to carry out the genocide
in the face of international scrutiny.”
The
conflict has also hindered humanitarian
initiatives in
Darfur
and put international personnel at risk. Mr.
Moreno-Ocampo spoke out against the conditions
under which they must operate, including
trying to stop the violence while the
government is facilitating and directing it.
He said that, “In such an environment their
efforts will never be enough.”
He
warned that, “The [Security] Council must be
prepared. If the judges decide to issue an
arrest warrant against President al-Bashir,
there will be a need for united and consistent
action to ensure its execution.”
Mr.
Moreno-Ocampo discussed the situation in
strong language, concluding that, “The
international community cannot conceal the
crimes. President al-Bashir’s criminal
actions should not be ignored, statements of
ceasefire followed by bombings, denial of
massive rapes or promises of justice while
torturing the witness should not be
supported.”
He
pointed to the apprehension of three human
rights activists in
Khartoum
at the end of November; all three were
tortured for reporting to the ICC. He said
that this is not the first case of
“suspected ICC witnesses” being arrested,
with some then being put on trial on charges
of treason.
The
ICC Prosecutor went on to reiterate that,
“The international community cannot be part
of any cover-up of genocide or crimes against
humanity.”
One
Sudanese official, the one-time Minister of
State for the Interior and the present
Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs,
Ahmad Muhammad Harun is already subject to an
ICC arrest warrant, as is Janjaweed chief Ali
Kushayb. The deaths and violence in Darfur
have been under consideration by the ICC since
2005.
The
ICC Prosecutor is also seeking warrants for
three other rebel leaders, who were involved
in the death of 12 UN peacekeepers in
September 2007, and has made clear that the
ICC “will not let
such attacks go unpunished” and “[n]o
one is above the law.”
He
said their identities have not yet been
disclosed since “the best way to ensure
their appearance is to keep confidential their
names for now,” but that there is solid
evidence indicating that they are answerable
for planning and directing the violence
against the UN personnel.
When
a warrant for al-Bashir can be expected
remains in doubt but the ICC seems likely to
take this step sooner or later. And once it
does, he would have to be arrested either by
Sudan
or, if he tried to flee, by other authorities.
Mr. Moreno-Ocampo told reporters today that,
“Realistically, I think [Mr. al-Bashir] will
face justice, I don’t know if in two months,
or two years.”
The
ICC prosecutor does not expect the support of
the Sudanese government in complying with
current and future arrest warrants from
the Hague
but held that nonetheless it is his “duty to
show that the law will be enforced very
seriously.” The Secretary-General has added
that he “emphasizes
that the United Nations respects the
independence of the Court and its judicial
process, and stresses the critical importance
of full compliance by all parties to the
actions of the Court.”
The
ICC hopes that holding those responsible for
the destruction and death the country has
undergone will contribute to moving it forward
and that “applying the law will help to
establish law and bring peace to the
region.”
--- by Caroline
Patton
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