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| June 9, 2008 |
At the United Nations last week, Luis Moreno-Ocampo chief prosecutor of the International Criminal of the Court tasked three years ago with bringing perpetrators in Sudan to justice, addressed the Security Council with these grim words.
“Massive crimes are still being committed in Darfur. Girls are still being raped. Children die as their schools are bombed. The entire Darfur region is a crime scene. Despite promises and denials, over the last five years, millions of civilians have been targeted by officials who vowed to protect them. Impunity reigns.”
This week the ICC has issued a report which lists multiple crimes against humanity and a widespread cover-up concluding, ”These are evidence of a criminal plan based on the mobilization of the whole state apparatus, including the armed forces, the intelligence services, the diplomatic and public information bureaucracies, and the justice system.”
Morenp-Ocampo told the Security Council that as recently as last month the Government of Sudan has bombed schools, markets and water installations. If the levels of destruction are reduced from previous years it is only due to the fact that “there are fewer villages to burn and loot, less civilians to terrorize and kill.” He said that so far this year one hundred thousand people have been displaced in Darfur. “
“We have seen it before. The Nazi regime invoked its national sovereignty to attack its own population, and then crossed borders to attack people in other countries,” he told the council. “The evidence shows that the commission of such crimes on such a scale, over a period of five years, and throughout Darfur, has required the sustained mobilization of the entire Sudanese state apparatus.”
It is no surprise that the Khartoum regime has scoffed at ICC indictments of two of their own, and refused to hand over Ali Kushayb, a Janjaweed leader responsible for mass murder and other atrocities, and Ahmed Harun, a chief orchestrator of the on-going genocide, former minister of the interior but now promoted to minister of humanitarian affaires and is responsible for the well being of the very people whose lives he has destroyed.
“Impunity is not an abstract notion.” Said Moreno-Ocampo, ” Ahmed Harun is attacking the victims in the camps. As Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs, he is hindering humanitarian aid. As a member of the UNAMID oversight committee, he is affecting the deployment and safety of peacekeepers. As a member of the NCP-SPLM Committee, he was sent to Abyei to manage the conflict. And Abyei was burned down, 50.000 citizens displaced.”
Sudanese officials have repeatedly denied backing the janjaweed militia, and have even denied such militias exist. Lying is the least of their crimes.
The Security Council has been incomprehensibly wimpy in condemning Khartoum and in their lack of support for the ICC indictments. But one member spoke out clearly; Costa Rica’s Bruno Stagno Ugarte, expressed the frustration we are all feeling.
“As time passes, we risk accommodating evil as the graves continue to fill in Darfur,” he said. “The government of Sudan is toying with us, toying with human dignity, toying with the authority of this council. The Security Council has been too shy in responding to Sudan’s refusal to comply with regards to Darfur.”
Five Council members, including China, Indonesia and Libya, positioned themselves against Costa Rica and the iCC. Nine Council members voiced support for condemning Sudan. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement expressing his "deep concern" over the lack of cooperation from Sudan as demanded by Security Council Resolution 1593 in 2005. I think The Secretary General chose his words far too carefully and again misses an opportunity to take a stronger position.
The United States government has never endorsed the ICC out of concern that certain Americans might find themselves in the dock. But on this occasion the American ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad stated that accountability is necessary "to enhance security and to send a warning to individuals who might resort to brutality as a way of achieving their aims."
John B. Bellinger III, the legal adviser to the State Department said, ""We accept the reality. It is the only game in town for bringing accountability for the atrocities in Darfur.
Sudan’s U.N. ambassador, Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamed’s response was less measured and completely predictable.
“We will never submit any of our citizens to be tried in the Hague,” Mohamed said. “Ocampo is destroying the peace process and we demand that this man be held accountable for what he is doing to the peace process in Sudan.”