ICC Overturns Decision to Exclude Genocide Charges

ICC OVERTURNS DECISION TO EXCLUDE GENOCIDE CHARGES
FOR AL-BASHIR ARREST
 Al-Bashir Remains Fugitive of Justice


Statement of Don Kraus, Chief Executive Officer of Citizens for Global Solutions:

“Today’s ruling by the International Criminal Court (ICC) judges demonstrates the wheels of international justice at work. We are now one step closer to holding accused war criminal Omar Al-Bashir in front of the world’s premier court for trying perpetrators of mass atrocities. Adding a charge of genocide to Al-Bashir’s arrest warrant, would be a first for the ICC and for a sitting head of state. This charge would add to the equally grave charges Al-Bashir faces of Crimes against Humanity and War Crime, including murder, extermination and rape.

Al-Bashir is wanted for recruiting, arming and purposefully failing to disarm the Janjaweed militia, which has committed gross crimes across the country. The evidence presented by Prosecutor Ocampo gathered evidence of women ranging from 6 to 70 years of age being raped under the Sudanese government’s watch. One witness said of the Janjaweed militia and other government “security” forces: "when we see them, we run. Some of us succeed in getting away, and some are caught and taken to be raped -- gang-raped. Maybe around 20 men rape one woman […]they rape women in front of their mothers and fathers".*

President Al-Bashir is still evading arrest, despite the grave charges against him and still presides over a government that is harboring a fugitive from the law.  Each day that Al-Bashir is free from remand is another win for impunity for the world’s most egregious crimes.”

Background

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is the only permanent international court capable of trying individuals accused of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity when there is no other recourse for justice

On 3 February 2010, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) accepted the prosecutor's appeal against the decision of Pre-Trial Chamber I not to include the crime of genocide in the arrest warrant against President Bashir of Sudan, pointing to an error in law. The Appeals Chamber unanimously reversed ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I’s decision of March 2009, on the grounds that it applied an erroneous standard of proof. The Appeals Chamber directed the Pre-Trial Chamber to decide anew whether a warrant of arrest should be extended to cover the crime of genocide based on the correct standard of proof. Judges insisted that their decision was a decision of procedural law and not a ruling on Al-Bashir’s responsibility for the crime of genocide.

On 14 July 2008, ICC Prosecutor asked the Court to authorize an arrest warrant for three charges: war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. On 4 March 2009, the Court agreed to issue an arrest warrant for war crimes and crimes against humanity but rejected genocide counts because the majority of the chamber found that the material submitted by the Prosecutor failed to provide reasonable grounds to establish that President Al-Bashir had genocidal intent. This decision was appealed by the Prosecutor on 6 July 2009. In this appeal the Prosecutor submitted that the Pre-Trial Chamber applied the wrong standard of proof when requiring that the ONLY reasonable conclusion to be drawn for the evidence is the existence of reasonable grounds to believe that the person has committed genocide.   

Omar al-Bashir is the current President of Sudan and head of the National Congress Party. He is also the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the ICC.   Al-Bashir came to power in 1989 when he led a group of officers in a military coup that ousted the government. During his presidency, there have been several violent struggles between the Janjaweed militia and rebel groups such as the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) in the form of guerilla warfare in the Darfur region. Since 2003 violent conflict in Darfur has resulted in 2.5 million people reportedly being displaced and death tolls estimated at between 200,000 and 400,000.

The Sudanese government has refused to cooperate with the ICC and has stated that it will not hand Al-Bashir over to the Court. The ICC's decision to issue an arrest warrant for Al-Bashir has brought criticisms from the African Union, League of Arab States and the Non-Alignment Movement.  Those opposed to the arrest warrant have stated that it will be an impediment to peace in the region. However, while in power Al-Bashir has continued to act with brazen impunity, undermining any realistic chance for peace and undermining the stability of the region.

Please click here for more information about the ICC, including basic facts, information about the Judges and prosecutors, a list of the countries that have ratified and a video of Ben Ferencz discussing the importance of the ICC.

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