|
ICC-OTP-20100611-PR545
“Impunity
carries a price and the victims are paying the price” stated
Luis Moreno-Ocampo on June 11 in New York, as he presented his
eleventh Report to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on
the situation in Darfur, Sudan.
“The
entire Darfur region is still a crime scene” added the
Prosecutor, “The attacks against civilians not participating in
the conflict continue. Thousands of civilians were attacked
immediately after the signing of a peace agreement and public
commitments to peace earlier this year. Rapes continue. The
process of extermination against millions displaced in the camps
continues. And why not, since the criminals enjoy impunity?”
The Prosecutor
highlighted the ICC Judges’ decision of 25 May 2010 informing
the UN Security Council that the Sudan is not respecting
Security Council Resolution 1593 as they have refused to arrest
Ahmad Harun and Militia/Janjaweed leader Ali Kushayb, two men
against whom arrest warrants were issued three years ago.
“Ahmad
Harun’s expertise is to mobilize and use militias to attack
civilians and to conceal such activities under the guise of
chaos or inter-tribal violence”, said the Prosecutor. “He did it
during the 90s in the Nuba Mountains and in Southern Sudan. Then
he moved to Darfur and did it again. Since 2003, as Minister of
State for the Interior, Harun coordinated the attacks on
civilians in their villages in Darfur. Between 2005 and 2009,
Harun was the Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs,
managing the crime of extermination in the camps for displaced
persons in Darfur, the same people whose displacement he
orchestrated. He was sent back to the South, to Abyei and Abyei
was burned down by tribal militias, with 50,000 citizens
displaced. Ahmad Harun is now in the South, currently the
Governor of South Kordofan. He should be arrested before he
commits new crimes in his new position”.
“Today
I briefed the Council on the continuation of crimes. On Monday,
the Security Council will review and define its comprehensive
strategy for Darfur and the Sudan. It is an opportunity to show
consistency and request full compliance of the Sudan with its
obligations as a UN member state to comply with UNSC
Resolutions. The arrest of Ahmad Harun and Ali Kushayb is of
necessity part of a global strategy to achieve peace, stability
and protection for the civilians”.
The International
Criminal Court is an independent, permanent court that
investigates and prosecutes persons accused of the most serious
crimes of international concern, namely genocide, crimes against
humanity and war crimes if national authorities with
jurisdiction are unwilling or unable to do so genuinely.
The Office
of the Prosecutor is currently investigating in five situations:
The Democratic Republic of Congo, Northern Uganda, the Darfur
region of Sudan, the Central African Republic, and Kenya. |
