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 First in the World! Eleven Darfurian Applicants Granted Victim Statu by I C C
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 15, 2007
CONTACT:
Blanche Foster, Acting Executive Director
Darfur Rehabilitation Project, Inc.
973-274-9424; [email protected]
Ciatta Z. Baysah, Esq.
[email protected]
973-623-6834
“First in the World! – Eleven Darfurian Applicants Recognized and Granted Victim Status by the International Criminal Court”
On December 6, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, formally recognized as victims, 11 Darfurians represented by New Jersey attorneys, Raymond M. Brown and Wanda M. Akin. The historic ruling by the Court in The Netherlands was the result of two years of work by Brown, Akin and Darfur Rehabilitation Project, Inc. (DRP), a non-governmental organization formed by Darfurians and headquartered in Newark, New Jersey.
The decision on the applications of these victims comes 33 months after the United Nations Security Council referred the Darfur Situation to the ICC and seven months after the May Indictment of two Sudanese charged with Crimes Against Humanity committed in the Darfur region of western Sudan.
The ICC is the legal successor to the Nuremberg tribunal which judged the Nazis after World War II. The provision concerning victims in the Rome Statue which created the ICC is a groundbreaking development in International Criminal Law in that it provides victims an opportunity to make their case to participate in the Court’s proceedings.
Because this Court is establishing new international law, it took the New Jersey lawyers, their clients, DRP, student interns and volunteers from Seton Hall University’s John C. Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations as well as the Seton Hall Law School, 20 months to convince the Court to accept their status as victims. Brown and Akin are trial lawyers and 2 of only 34 American attorneys admitted to practice before the ICC.
The mission of Darfur Rehabilitation Project is to inform the American public about the extensive violations of human rights that continue to occur in Darfur; to unify the voices of Darfurians everywhere; advocate for justice for the victims; promote conflict resolution; foster the advancement of all people of the region through education, advocacy, direct services and research (in collaboration with other organizations that are internationally recognized); and to further democratization and respect for human rights.
For more information on Wanda M. Akin and Raymond M. Brown, refer to www.BrownAkin.com. For more information on Darfur Rehabilitation Project, refer to www.darfurrehab.org.
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Khalid Kodi
فيس بوك
تويتر
انستقرام
يوتيوب
بنتيريست