A Letter to the UN Secretary General We Can All Support

Originally published on the CGS blog on September 19, 2007.

September 19, 2007

The Honorable Ban Ki-Moon
Secretary-General
Room 3800
United Nations
New York, New York 10017

Dear Mr. Secretary General:

Thank you for meeting with us in July, at which time we discussed
the urgent situation in Darfur. We write to you today to call on you to
make justice for victims and accountability for perpetrators of crimes
in Darfur a top priority. While we are heartened by the international
community’s support for the deployment of the UN Assistance Mission in
Darfur, we are deeply concerned that the Security Council has failed to
demand Sudan’s compliance with the International Criminal Court’s (ICC)
ongoing investigation and issuance of arrest warrants. We believe that
without justice, there can be no lasting, viable peace in Darfur.

As you know, the crisis in Darfur, and the spillover of the conflict
into Chad, is among the world’s largest humanitarian disasters.
Millions of people are dependent upon humanitarian assistance for their
very survival. And yet, the gatekeeper between the international
humanitarian agencies and their beneficiaries, the current Sudanese
State Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Ahmed Haroun, is wanted for war
crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court
(ICC). Shockingly, the Government of Sudan recently named him as the
co-chair of a committee established to investigate human rights abuses
in Darfur.

The ICC’s Chief Prosecutor, Mr. Moreno Ocampo, recently explained
that Ahmed Haroun, “the same man, who as Minister of State for the
Interior, allegedly attacked civilians and forced people out of their
homes and into the camps, is today in charge of the camps, controlling
the fate of his victims”.

Mr. Secretary General, Mr. Haroun’s nomination shows the Government
of Sudan’s utter contempt for the rule of law—especially for the ICC,
the very court to which the UN Security Council referred the crimes
committed in Darfur. We ask you to call on the members of the Security
Council to ensure that Sudan arrests and delivers to The Hague for
trial Mr. Haroun and Mr. Ali Kushayb, the ICC’s other named suspect.

Holding accountable those who ordered and executed the Government of
Sudan’s coordinated campaign of mass murder, rape and displacement is a
precondition for guaranteeing a lasting peace in Darfur. Peace and
justice are mutually reinforcing goals—to sacrifice one in pursuit of
the other jeopardizes both. We strongly urge you to use your
leadership publicly to ensure that the ICC and other transitional
justice measures are integral to the UN’s response to the crisis in the
Darfur region.

Sincerely,

Mr. Larry Cox, Executive Director
Amnesty International USA

Mr. Salih Booker, Executive Director
Global Rights

Ms. Maureen Byrnes, Executive Director
Human Rights First

Dr. Frank Donaghue , Chief Executive Officer
Physicians for Human Rights

Ms. Felice D. Gaer, Director
Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights

Mr. Kenneth Roth, Executive Director
Human Rights Watch

Ms. Jennifer Windsor, Executive Director
Freedom House