Media Advisory: ICC Prosecutor on Darfur: “Stop the crimes, Stop the criminals”

http://www.icc-cpi.int/press/pressreleases/373.html


Media Advisory: ICC Prosecutor on Darfur: “Stop the crimes, Stop the criminals”

The Hague, 2 June 2008

ICC-OTP-20080602-MA14-ENG



On June 5, International Criminal Court Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo will be in New York to deliver his report to the United Nations Security Council on the situation in Darfur. The Prosecutor will update the Council on the progress of his second and third cases in Darfur, and explore with the Council possible reactions to the Sudan’s non cooperation with the Court, and non compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 1593.

The Government of Sudan has taken no steps to arrest Ahmad Harun, former Minister of State for Interior of the Sudan, and Ali Kushayb, a Militia Janjaweed leader, both indicted by the ICC on 27 April 2007 for crimes against humanity and war crimes.

‘The people of Darfur are attacked in their villages and in the camps. They are attacked now. Community leaders are arrested, women are raped, schools are bombed. Those are not military actions. Those are criminal acts.” said Prosecutor Moreno Ocampo.

Today, Ahmed Harun is still a Minister of the Government of the Sudan, in charge of humanitarian affairs. Impunity for Harun has concrete consequences on the international community’s efforts to deliver humanitarian assistance and promote security in Darfur. He attacks the people he has the responsibility to protect. He hampers the delivery of relief to the victims. He is also involved in obstructing deployment of the peacekeepers. Impunity, for the Darfuris, is not an abstraction. It means death and destruction.

The Security Council referred the situation in Darfur to the Prosecutor in March 2005, recognizing that justice must be a component of any solution for Darfur. The UN Security Council is in Khartoum this week on the 4th of June. “This is a fantastic opportunity to ensure a clear, strong and unified message to the Sudanese authorities that the crimes must be stopped and Ahmed Harun arrested” Prosecutor Moreno-Ocampo said.

“Darfur is a test for the international community. We cannot look away. Council members can explain in Khartoum that those who protect alleged criminals and commit crimes will not escape the law” added the Prosecutor.

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 four situations: The Democratic Republic of Congo, Northern Uganda, the Darfur region of Sudan, and the Central African Republic, all still engulfed in various degrees of conflict with victims in urgent need of protection.



(Edited by Sahar Yousif on 06-03-2008, 12:40 PM)

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