DARFUR Union in UK:- A Meeting with Deputy Prosecutor of the ICC to Discuss Recent Atrocities in Da

11:08 PM July, 15 2023

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DARFUR Union in UK:- A Meeting with Deputy Prosecutor of the ICC to Discuss Recent Atrocities in Darfur, Plus Collaboration with the Court

“*A Productive Meeting between Deputy Prosecutor of ICC and Representatives from Sister Darfur Organisations/ Darfur Activists to Discuss Latest ICC Briefing about War Crimes in West Darfur and Continuous Collaboration with the Court*”

The Darfur Union in UK has accepted a kind and an important invitation by our sister organisation Darfur Women Action Group (DWAG) and ICC outreach office for a joint meeting with the Deputy Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Nazhat Shameem Khan , on July 14, 2023, to discuss recent atrocities in West Darfur and the crimes of the Janjaweed militia. Furthermore, the meeting covered the latest briefing by ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan to the United Nations Security Council.
In his briefing to the security council, Prosecutor Khan said that the ICC is investigating “alleged” new war crimes in West Darfur and added “We are by any analysis not on the precipice of a human catastrophe but in the very midst of one” (ref. 1). The Human Right report continued to mention “credible information” that they were killed by Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters and an allied Janjaweed militia (ref. 2).

The meeting between the the Darfur Participants (including Darfur Union in the UK) and the Deputy Prosecutor of the ICC was an opportunity to discuss the latest developments in the ICC's investigation into the Darfur case. The two sides also discussed the importance of continued collaboration between Darfur bodies and the ICC.
"We are grateful to the Deputy Prosecutor for meeting with us today," said DARFUR Union. "We believe that the ICC is playing an important role in bringing justice to the victims of the Darfur conflict. We are committed to working with the ICC to ensure that those responsible for these crimes are brought to justice. This includes ongoing trials, new investigations and future cases"

The meeting between the DARFUR bodies and the Deputy Prosecutor of the ICC is a sign of the continued commitment of both sides to ensuring that justice is served for the victims of the Darfur conflict. The message is clear, there is no escape for the perpetrators of these heinous crimes and justice will prevail.
In addition to discussing the latest briefing by ICC Prosecutor Khan, the meeting also covered other topics, some of which are listed below:
The importance of continued cooperation between Darfur bodies and the ICC
The need for the ICC to strengthen its efforts to investigate and prosecute war crimes in Darfur
Outreach office of the ICC to continue increasing efforts to raise awareness of the current ongoing cases (Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman (ref. 3), and also the follow up on the indictee at large including Omar Al Bashir and others (ref. 4). The same also goes for the Darfur organisations and activities to help spread the word and also to continue be the voice of the victims
For the DARFUR organisations and activists to continue putting pressure on local governments and international community to take more effective actions such as protecting the victims and region; bring about accountability against the perpetrators. Also ICC will to continue to Raise the case of Darfur in their meetings with representatives of the international community
Furthermore, reiteration that ICC Office of the Prosecutor launches a public appeal for information relating to alleged crimes committed in the in Darfur, a while back or recent, in forms of testimonies (ref. 5), material (videos/ audio files), reports etc. which now can be submitted via the OTP portal (ref. 6)
Importance of continuing the efforts of gathering of evidence for past and new crimes; in addition to continuing to document testimonies from the ground, particularly from the survivors of the atrocities.

The cyber meeting was a productive exchange of views and ideas. Both sides expressed their commitment to working together to bring justice to the victims of the Darfur.

DARFUR Union in the UK would like to thanks Madam Deputy Prosecutor - Nazhat Shameem Khan, Edward Jeremy - trial lawyer for Darfur, ICC outreach office, the participants from Darfur sister organisations, particularly DARFUR Women Action Group ( DWAG) and its president Niemat Ahmadi, for the productive meeting.

The DARFUR Union is a UK-based organisation that works to promote justice and accountability for the Darfur case. The organisation has been a vocal supporter of the ICC's investigation into the Darfur case.

Darfur Union in the UK

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