ICC prosecutor says UN Security Council must force Sudan to cooperate
By: Wasil Ali
November 18, 2007 (CAIRO) — The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said that he wants the UN Security Council (UNSC) to force Sudan into cooperating with the world court.
The judges of the ICC issued their first arrest warrants for suspects accused of war crimes in Sudan’s Darfur region in early May.
The warrants were issued for Ahmed Haroun, state minister for humanitarian affairs, and militia commander Ali Kushayb. Sudan has so far rejected handing over the two suspects.
Haroun has retained his position as a minister and was recently appointed as head of a committee investigating human rights complaints in Darfur, a move criticized by human right groups.
Ocampo will brief the UNSC early December on the progress of his investigations in Darfur. He is expected to notify the council that Sudan is not cooperating per resolution 1593 referring the situation in Darfur to the ICC.
It is not clear if the UNSC will be willing to act on the matter given that the primary focus of the world body is on the deployment of the 26,000 strong peacekeeping forces.
Last month Ocampo criticized the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon for neglecting the issue of justice in his monthly reports on Sudan.
“Justice was not mentioned in the UNSG subsequent reports on Darfur where the UN secretariat developed a three prong approach with a humanitarian, political and security components only” Ocampo said in prepared remarks to the 11th diplomatic briefing at the ICC headquarters in the Hague.
The warrant for Haroun lists 42 counts including murder, torture and persecution, while the warrant for Kushayb lists 50 counts including murder and intentionally attacking civilians.
Sudan’s foreign minister Lam Akol has also announced earlier this month in New York that Kushayb was releases of from jail due to “lack of evidence” against him.
The Sudanese government has refused to hand over Haroun and Kushayb to the ICC. The ICC prosecutor said that he will inform the UN Security Council next December that the Sudanese government is not cooperating with his office as mandated by resolution 1593.
Sudan has not ratified the Rome Statue, but the UN Security Council triggered the provisions under the Statue that enables it to refer situations in non-State parties to the world court if it deems that it is a threat to international peace and security.
(ST)