Darfur rebel group says world must not turn its back on the ICC
December 03, 2007 (LONDON) — The Darfur rebel group Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) called on the international community to stand behind the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the work it is doing in Darfur.
Adam said that the justice component is not subject to compromise or negotiation with the Sudanese government.
The prosecutor of the ICC, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, will submit his semi-annual report on Wednesday to the UN Security Council (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.
Adam said that Haroun being part of the Sudanese government and heading a human rights committee “is an insult to the conscience of the international community and to the Darfur victims”.
The JEM official stressed that the ICC is one of humanity’s great achievement since the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals.
The Sudanese government has refused to hand over Haroun or Kushayb to the ICC and insisted that its courts are capable of prosecuting Darfur war criminals.
However Adam said that the Sudanese judiciary is a body of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP).
“The Sudanese courts are unable and unwilling to handle the Darfur war crimes. The people of Darfur believe that the ICC is the only venue for prosecuting perpetrators of these crimes” he added.
Adam noted that an association of Darfuri legal experts met in January 2005 in London and decided that the ICC the most suitable place to bring those responsible for crimes before court.
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)