United Nations (New York)
5 June 2008
document
New York — "The entire Darfur region is a crime scene," the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court told the Security Council this morning, adding that "Impunity reigns."
Introducing his seventh report since the Council, through adoption of resolution 1593 (2005), had referred Darfur to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, Luis Moreno Ocampo said he had collected compelling evidence that would identify those most responsible for crimes against civilians in Darfur and that he had found no trace of Sudanese judicial proceedings regarding the matter during the last three years.
The judges of the International Criminal Court had issued arrest warrants against Ahmad Harun, former Minister of State for the Interior, and Ali Kushayb, a Janjaweed militia leader, for crimes against humanity and war crimes. "I report today that the Government of the Sudan is not cooperating with the Court." The Council must make publicly clear that the two fugitive indictees and those who protect them would not benefit from any lenience, or any support from the international community.
"In Darfur, the evidence shows an organized campaign by Sudanese officials to attack civilians, in particular the Fur, Massalit and Zaghawa, with the objective to physically and mentally destroy entire communities," he said. Such attacks were calculated to drive entire groups to inhospitable areas, where they died immediately, or into camps, where they died slowly. In the camps, where the Janjaweed militia had been integrated into the Sudanese security apparatus, rape was systematic and destitution was organized. Usurpation of land was also systematic.
He said the evidence showed that "the commission of crimes on such a scale, over a period of five years, and throughout Darfur, has required the sustained mobilization of the entire State apparatus." The evidence further revealed coordination of the military, security and intelligence services, integration of the Janjaweed militia, participation of all ministries, contribution of the diplomatic and public information bureaucracies, and control of the judiciary. It took planning and organization, commanders and many executioners. "But, mostly, it requires that the rest of the world look away and do nothing."
He asked the Council to send a strong message to the Government of the Sudan and issue a presidential statement, requesting that they stop the crimes and arrest Harun and Kushayab. Such a statement should also request all parties to assist the Court and comply with resolution 1593 (2005). "Silence has never helped or protected victims," he concluded. "It only helps criminals."
Bruno Stagno Ugarte, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Worship of Costa Rica, reminded the Council that "just steps away", the Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court had expressed a firm commitment to eradicating impunity for the most atrocious crimes "perpetrated by evil". But, "the actions of the Security Council, and therefore the Member States gathered around this table that give life to it, have clearly not been up to par with what is required as regards the situation in Darfur." The Council must cease delaying and subordinating the imperatives of justice to political calculus.
"The Government of the Sudan is toying with us, toying with human dignity, toying with the authority of this Council," he added. Referring to the "ghosts of the past", the Holocaust, Srebrenica and Rwanda, he said, "Enough appeasement, the time has passed to continue accommodating evil."
Other speakers expressed strong support for the International Criminal Court and its Office of the Prosecutor, as well as for the presidential statement the delegation of Costa Rica was preparing. Italy's representative said the credibility, responsibility and the accountability of the Organization and its Member States were at stake. He wondered if Member States were modifying the Charter's Article 58 [that stipulated States' obligation to adhere to Council resolutions] by "acquiescence".
Speakers also deplored the lack of cooperation with the International Criminal Court on the part of the Government of the Sudan, an obligation under resolution 1593 (2005), and noted that the Council mission currently in Africa had indicated that the Sudan's Government would continue to defy that resolution and, thereby, the Council's authority.
The representative of Libya said that the Office of the Prosecutor should present a sobering prosecution, which did not hasten to condemn prior to trial and closely scrutinized diverse pieces of evidence. The report made legal and political accusations against the highest organs of the State, in many cases on the basis of media and political reports, while nothing was being said about the practices of the rebel movements. The matter had been moulded as if it related to the conduct of a State solely obsessed with destroying the basis of its existence, namely its people and the tribal and social fabric. Justice for the Sudanese people could only be achieved through a political process that respected the sovereignty of Member States, and addressed the root causes of the conflict.
The representatives of Belgium, Croatia, Panama, Indonesia, Burkina Faso, South Africa, China, Russian Federation, France, Viet Nam, United Kingdom and the United States also spoke.
The meeting, which started at 10:10 a.m., adjourned at 12:10 p.m.
Background
Under its agenda item: "Reports of the Secretary-General on the Sudan", the Security Council this morning is expected to hear a briefing by Luis Moreno Ocampo, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, on his seventh report regarding his investigation in the situation in Darfur, pursuant to Council resolution 1593 (2005). The report was issued at the outset of the meeting and has, as of yet, no document number.
Briefing by Prosecutor
LUIS MORENO OCAMPO, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, said that, because the Assembly of States Parties to the Court was in session in New York and Security Council members were in Africa, today was a historic opportunity to confirm the message that there could be no impunity for perpetrators of massive atrocities in Darfur and to move from principles to action. Massive crimes were still being committed in Darfur. Girls were still being raped. Children died as their schools were bombed. "The entire Darfur region is a crime scene," he said. "Impunity reigns."
He said his Office had received a mandate for the Council and that mandate was justice. In fulfilling his mandate, he had collected compelling evidence that would identify those most responsible for crimes against civilians in Darfur, in particular the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa. He would present a second case to the judges in July. Although his Office could not intervene when national authorities were conducting national proceedings and the Sudan had claimed that it would investigate and prosecute perpetrators, the Office had found no trace of Sudanese proceedings during the last three years.
In April 2007, he said the judges of the Court had issued arrest warrants against Ahmad Harun, former Minister of State for the Interior, and Ali Kushayb, a Janjaweed militia leader, for crimes against humanity and war crimes. That had been an opportunity for the Sudan to break the criminal system unveiled by the Court, to surrender the indictees, to start proceedings against lesser perpetrators -- but that opportunity had been lost. "I report today that the Government of the Sudan is not cooperating with the Court. There has been no improvement since December." The Government of the Sudan did not recognize the jurisdiction of the Court, a jurisdiction granted by the Council.
"Impunity is not an abstract notion," he said. Mr. Harun was attacking the victims in the camps and, as Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs, he was hindering humanitarian aid. As a member of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) oversight committee, he was affecting the deployment and safety of peacekeepers. As a member of the NCP-SPLM Committee, he had been sent to Abyei to manage the conflict. Abyei had been burned down and 50,000 citizens had been displaced. The Government accepted UNAMID peacekeepers and aid workers in Darfur, and the same Government was promoting Mr. Harun. "The Sudanese Government tolerates the firefighters and promotes the arsonists at the same time."
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