AU to discuss trial of Darfur war crimes with all parties

KHARTOUM, June 8, 2005 (KUNA) — The African Union (AU) is to discuss appropriate procedures of trials related to war crimes in Darfur with all concerned parties, Chairman of the African Union Commission Forces Oumar Konare said here Wednesday.

Displaced Sudanese women from the Darfur region wait for relief food southeast of Khartoum, February 19, 2005. (Reuters).

Concluding his short visit in the Sudanese capital, Konare said in a press conference that the AU was committed to punish all war criminals, regardless whether they were members of the government or rebel groups in Darfur.

There was an ongoing contact between the AU and the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the issue, he said.

Yesterday, the ICC announced the beginning of official investigations on war crimes in Darfur, in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution 1598 issued last April. Khartoum, however, had refused to hand over its citizens to be tried abroad.

Konare said he hoped next Friday’s round of peace-talks in Nigeria would be final and help support a political settlement in Darfur.

The AU was keen on maintaining “a united and democratic Sudan,” in spite of the country’s diversities, he noted.