Europe urged to sanction Sudan over Darfur suspects

June 14, 2008 (BRUSSELS) — The European Union has been urged to impose sanctions on Sudan over its refusal to apprehend two men accused of crimes against humanity in the country’s deeply troubled western province of Darfur.

Foreign ministers from the EU’s 27 governments will meet Jun. 16 to discuss the Khartoum government’s non-compliance with the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Last year the ICC issued arrest warrants for the arrest of Ahmed Haroun, Sudan’s minister for humanitarian affairs, and Ali Kosheib, a leading figure in the Janjaweed bandits who are accused of carrying out widespread killings in Darfur as a proxy force for the Khartoum government. Both men face 51 counts of serious crimes, including murder, rape, forcing people from their homes, and persecution.

Human rights activists are outraged that not only has the government of Sudan ignored orders to hand over the men, it has effectively promoted Haroun by giving him a greater say in the handling of the Darfur crisis. In September 2007, he was given responsibility for hearing complaints from those affected by the violence in Darfur; he has also been tasked with liaising with the United Nations and the African Union on issues relating to the province’s security.

Kosheib was in custody at the time the arrest warrant was issued. But in October 2007, Khartoum announced that he had been released, claiming that there was not sufficient evidence against him.

In May this year, the European Parliament called on EU governments to impose what it described as “targeted and punitive measures” on those Sudanese officials who are believed to be directly responsible for not complying with the ICC. These would include freezing any assets that they hold, denying them access to European banks, and forbidding them from doing business with European firms.

Salih Mahmoud Osman, a Sudanese lawyer who has been campaigning for the perpetrators of crimes in Darfur to be brought to justice, said that the EU has a “special responsibility” to take robust action against Khartoum because the Union has been a supporter of the International Criminal Court.

According to UN estimates, some 300,000 people have been killed since fighting erupted in Darfur five years ago. Up to three million people are living in refugee camps after being uprooted by the violence, with most of these unable to return home as the security situation remains dire.

“More than a year after the arrest warrants were issued, girls as young as eight continue to be raped,” said Osman. “Diplomats have too often allowed the need for justice to be set aside for other priorities. Now is the time for the international community to act.”

Osman rejected suggestions that arresting war criminals might impede efforts to broker a peace agreement between the various armed groups in Sudan. “On the contrary, justice helps support the process of peace,” he argued. “The priority today should be justice and accountability.”

The EU foreign ministers who meet next week in Luxembourg are to hear an update on the Darfur dossier from Luis Moreno Ocampo, the ICC’s prosecutor. While diplomats say that the ministers will issue a statement deploring the lack of cooperation with the ICC, it is not yet clear if they will impose sanctions.

Hans-Gert Pöttering, the European Parliament’s president, said that the EU “has not only a moral but also a legal obligation to do everything in its power to help ensure these criminals are prosecuted and punished.”

Lotte Leicht, director of the Brussels office of Human Rights Watch, recalled that EU governments indicated earlier this year that they would adopt punitive measures against a group of Sudanese officials unless they meet the ICC’s demands. “It would be profoundly useful if the EU not just supports the ICC in theory but when push comes to shove,” she said.

Activists believe that Sudan is legally required under the UN’s Charter to satisfy the demands of the ICC.

Osman has also asked the EU to formally reprimand China over its close political and economic links with Sudan.

“China has been a real problem in the (UN) Security Council because whenever there is a draft resolution to be adopted related to the situation in Darfur, it is always China that is blocking the resolution,” he told IPS. “The Sudanese government is depending immensely on China because it is providing helicopter gunships and aircraft that are used in aerial bombardment and destroying villages and communities.

“The international community should send a message to China that it is not acceptable to support a government that is committing genocide against its own people.”

In a letter sent to Dimitrij Rupel, the Swedish foreign minister who will chair next week’s discussion with his EU counterparts, several campaign groups have insisted that the Union needs to demonstrate that Sudan’s rejection of ICC demands “will come at a price.”

The letter was signed by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies in Egypt, Collectif Urgence Darfour in France, the Lebanese Centre for Human Rights, and the International Federation for Human Rights.

(IPS)