ICC prosecutor says world failed to execute warrants in Darfur for ‘accountability’
Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 30th Jan. ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan on Monday briefed the members of the UN Security Council and told that the international community’s failure to execute warrants issued by the ICC and subsequent lack of accountability are fuelling the violence from the war between rival militaries in Sudan.
Prosecutor Karim Khan emphasized the “ugly and inescapable truth” that failure to act now is not only a damning verdict on the present but will subject future generations to a similar fate.
“It cannot be a case of ‘play, rewind, and repeat’,” he warned.
ICC issued a clear assessment indicated the presence of “grounds to believe” that Rome Statute crimes – genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity are being committed by both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces along with affiliated groups.
He stressed “We need to do more.”
Mr. Karim urged Sudan to comply in good faith with Security Council resolutions, cooperate with and provide requested information to his office, and allow investigators in the country.
Security Council referred the situation in Darfur to the ICC Prosecutor for investigations into allegations of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in March of 2005.
The region was engaged in a brutal war involved the military-led government, the Janjaweed militia, and rebel groups, resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of civilian lives and the displacement of millions more from their homes in a campaign marked by ethnic cleansing against non-Arabs.
Mr. Khan announced an investigation into fresh allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur against the backdrop of the ongoing war between SAF and RSF forces and their affiliated groups.
He was addressing the Council via video link from N’Djamena, Mr. Khan described the situation as “dire by any metric”.
ICC noted that over 7.1 million Sudanese civilians have been displaced, with 1.5 million forced to seek refuge in neighboring countries.
Chad hosts more than 540,000 Sudanese refugees, a number expected to rise to 910,000 by the end of 2024.
“One in three of the population in the affected parts of Chad are refugees they are arriving at a rate faster than Chad, faster than the United Nations can respond,” Mr. Khan said.
He added many showing signs of serious injury and trauma.
Sudan refugees have provided chilling testimony described sexual violence against Darfuri women and girls, brutal killings, and racially motivated crimes.
Mr. Khan warned the council members that the crisis in Darfur was deepening, with the war impacting whole swathes of the continent: from Libya on the Mediterranean to Sub-Saharan Africa, and from Sudan’s Red Sea coast to the Atlantic.
“We see a number of areas where conflicts seem to be triumphing against rule of law and deafening out the voices of the most vulnerable people,” he said.
He stressed that judicial orders and court judgement cannot solve the problem.
ICC prosecutor urged the international community to devise innovative solutions to address the “catastrophe” in Darfur and prevent the violence from spreading further.
Mr. Khan urged Council members not to lose sight of the individual human stories behind the statistics of those affected by brutal crimes and war.
“These are individuals whose lives have been torn apart, each of whom has a story of woe and of suffering,” he said.
He emphasized the collective responsibility of the Security Council, the United Nations, Member States, regional organizations and the ICC “to live up to our promises that we have repeatedly made.”
