ICC Prosecutor launches campaign for evidence of war crimes in Darfur
June 11, 2024 (THE HAGUE) – International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan has initiated a campaign to collect evidence of escalating atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur region amid the ongoing war between rival military factions.
In a video message, Khan urgently called for cooperation from victim groups, civil society organizations, national authorities, and international partners to provide evidence of crimes against civilians. The ICC, which has been investigating the situation in Darfur since 2005, is prioritizing “the terrible events in West Darfur, including El Geneina, in 2023.”
Expressing deep concern over allegations of widespread international crimes in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, and surrounding areas, Khan stated his office is gathering daily information from the region that “appears to reveal an organized, systematic, and profound attack on human dignity.”
Evidence collected thus far indicates “credible, repeated, and continuously expanding allegations of attacks against the civilian population, particularly those directed against camps for internally displaced persons,” Khan revealed. He also cited evidence of “widespread and prevalent use of rape and other forms of sexual violence, the shelling of civilian areas, the looting of properties, and attacks against hospitals.”
Khan specifically requested video, photographic, or audio material from those on the ground and appealed to civil society, partners, and individuals to share any contacts who might provide testimony, information, or evidence. He also called on national authorities and international partners to share any relevant evidence they have collected.
“We are asking national authority counterparts, State parties, and non-State parties alike, to share any evidence or information they are collecting or have available to them in relation to these serious allegations of international crimes that are increasingly emerging and cannot be ignored,” Khan emphasized.