Originally published on the CGS blog on May 3, 2007.
In an important step towards accountability for the massive war crimes violations committed in Darfur , the International Criminal Court today issued warrants of arrest for Ahmad Harun and Ali Kushayb , the two individuals named by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Luis Moreno-Ocampo in his February filing on the Darfur situation (for a terrific background memo on Darfur and the ICC see here ).
The judges of Pre-Trial Chamber I issued the warrants and the deliberative nature of their thinking can be seen here. It is particularly worth noting this passage:
“RECALLS the United Nations Security Council resolution 1593, acting pursuant to Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, in which the Security Council decided that the Government of the Sudan and all other parties to the Darfur conflict, shall cooperate fully with and provide any necessary assistance to the Court and the Prosecutor pursuant to the resolution and, while recognizing that States not party to the Statute have no obligation under the Statute, urged all States and concerned regional and other international organizations to cooperate fully.”
Predictably the Sudanese government took a hostile approach to the news – its Justice Minister Mohamed Ali Al-Mardi told Reuters on Wednesday that “We do not recognise the International Criminal Court … and we will not hand over any Sudanese even from the rebel groups who take up weapons against the government…”
However as ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo noted “The judges have issued arrest warrants. As the territorial state, the government of the Sudan has a legal duty to arrest Ahmad Harun and Ali Kushayb….This is the International Criminal Court’s decision, and the government has to respect it.”
Whether they will eventually do so or not is unclear – what is perhaps important to note today is that the ICC has ratcheted up the pressure on the Sudanese government. The Bush Administration has an opportunity to build on that and start to work with the UN and key countries to stop the killing and bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice. If the Sudanese government refuses to hand over the two accused war criminals, the U.S. should leverage that decision to take the Darfur situation back to the UN Security Council with a view to pushing hard for much tougher UN action. We all need to put pressure on the White House to step up and do much more to stop the killing and hold the killers accountable.
