Crimes in Darfur continue. To stop the crimes, arrest the criminals, Ahmad Harun and Ali Kushayb - ICC Prosecutor

“Impunity carries a price and the victims are paying the price” stated Luis Moreno-Ocampo on June 11 in New York, as he presented his eleventh Report to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on the situation in Darfur, Sudan.

“The entire Darfur region is still a crime scene” added the Prosecutor, “The attacks against civilians not participating in the conflict continue. Thousands of civilians were attacked immediately after the signing of a peace agreement and public commitments to peace earlier this year. Rapes continue. The process of extermination against millions displaced in the camps continues. And why not, since the criminals enjoy impunity?”

The Prosecutor highlighted the ICC Judges’ decision of 25 May 2010 informing the UN Security Council that the Sudan is not respecting Security Council Resolution 1593 as they have refused to arrest Ahmad Harun and Militia/Janjaweed leader Ali Kushayb, two men against whom arrest warrants were issued three years ago.

“Ahmad Harun’s expertise is to mobilize and use militias to attack civilians and to conceal such activities under the guise of chaos or inter-tribal violence”, said the Prosecutor. “He did it during the 90s in the Nuba Mountains and in Southern Sudan. Then he moved to Darfur and did it again. Since 2003, as Minister of State for the Interior, Harun coordinated the attacks on civilians in their villages in Darfur. Between 2005 and 2009, Harun was the Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs, managing the crime of extermination in the camps for displaced persons in Darfur, the same people whose displacement he orchestrated. He was sent back to the South, to Abyei and Abyei was burned down by tribal militias, with 50,000 citizens displaced. Ahmad Harun is now in the South, currently the Governor of South Kordofan. He should be arrested before he commits new crimes in his new position”.

“Today I briefed the Council on the continuation of crimes. On Monday, the Security Council will review and define its comprehensive strategy for Darfur and the Sudan. It is an opportunity to show consistency and request full compliance of the Sudan with its obligations as a UN member state to comply with UNSC Resolutions. The arrest of Ahmad Harun and Ali Kushayb is of necessity part of a global strategy to achieve peace, stability and protection for the civilians”.

The International Criminal Court is an independent, permanent court that investigates and prosecutes persons accused of the most serious crimes of international concern, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes if national authorities with jurisdiction are unwilling or unable to do so genuinely.

The Office of the Prosecutor is currently investigating in five situations: The Democratic Republic of Congo, Northern Uganda, the Darfur region of Sudan, the Central African Republic, and Kenya.

Statement of the Prosecutor: English

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Source: Office of the Prosecutor