Darfur rebel leader calls on UNSC to assist ICC in arresting suspects
By Wasil Ali
November 28, 2007 (PARIS) — A prominent Darfur rebel leader called on the UN Security Council (UNSC) to address the issue of outstanding arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court (ICC)
The rebel leader said that the UNSC must ensure that Sudan complies with the arrest warrants as mandated by resolution 1593. He warned that lack of action by the UNSC on the matter “will be construed as lack of resolve by the council”.
Al-Nur statements come ahead of a report by the prosecutor of the ICC, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, next week before the UNSC. Ocampo is expected to notify the council that Sudan is not cooperating per resolution 1593 referring the situation in Darfur to the ICC.
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.
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.
Al-Nur called on the people of Sudan to support the mission of the ICC saying that “justice is a universal value”.
“The Sudanese government has clearly demonstrated that it is unwilling to prosecute those responsible for massacring my people. This is simply unacceptable and I will not negotiate on bringing the suspects before court” he added.
The UNSC has been focusing primarily on the deployment of the 26,000 strong peacekeeping forces to Darfur. Despite Some UN diplomats suggested that the ICC arrest warrants should stay in the background for the time being to secure Sudan’s cooperation on the hybrid force.
Yesterday the UK envoy at the UNSC John Sawers said that the council should be prepared to address the issue of the Darfur war crimes suspect.
The leader of the SLM reiterated his willingness to cooperate with the ICC “to the maximum extent needed”.
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)