Originally issued as a CGS press release on June 29, 2005.
International Community Must Play Effective Role in Region
Washington DC — Less than three months after the historic referral of Darfur to the International Criminal Court (ICC), Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo briefed the UN Security Council today about progress in his investigations. Citizens for Global Solutions commends Ocampo for moving swiftly forward to hold accountable those responsible for the genocide in Darfur. In addition, we call on the international community to play a bigger, more effective role in assisting the investigations and ending the atrocities that continue to plague the Sudanese province.
Heather B. Hamilton, Vice President for Programs of Citizens for Global Solutions noted, “The Prosecutor’s presentation today demonstrates the great progress that has been made in a short time in preparing to hold those responsible for the genocide in Darfur accountable for their actions. But the Security Council must not let this progress be a substitute for action to stop the violence.”
As violence continues to ravage Darfur, the deployment of additional African Union (AU) monitoring troops is behind schedule, and the sanctions committee established by Security Council Resolution 1591 has yet to begin fulfilling its mandate. “The support and cooperation of State Parties and non-State Parties to the ICC,” noted Ocampo, “will be important to ensure the effective implementation of [the Security Council referral].”
Citizens for Global Solutions calls on the international community, particularly the G8 leaders meeting next week in Scotland, to address and act upon those measures that must be taken in order to end the atrocities in Darfur. These include:
- Ensuring that the African Union troop deployment is on schedule;
- Expanding the mandate of the AU force to include civilian protection;
- Providing assistance to the AU deployment through NATO;
- Implementing and enforcing a no-fly zone over Darfur;
- Increasing pressure on the Government of Sudan to halt the violence and rein in the Janjaweed militias; and
- Meeting humanitarian assistance pledges.
As Ms. Hamilton summarized, “The international community has lost interest in holding Khartoum’s feet to the fire to actually stop the violence, and is falling short of its pledges to protect innocent civilians in Darfur. It will be shameful indeed if judicial proceedings are used as an excuse by the international community to fail at actually protecting innocent civilians on the ground. Justice is an important part of a peace strategy, but prosecutions alone won’t help the people who are being raped, killed and maimed.”
