Chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC) Luis Moreno-Ocampo will soon report to the UN Security Council on the progress of his investigation into crimes in the Darfur region of Sudan, in particular, his request to indict Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir for genocide and crimes against humanity. South Africa, now in its final months on the Security Council, should use the prosecutor’s report to put its considerable weight behind the important work of the court.
Since the July 2008 request to indict Al-Bashir, Sudan has lobbied at the UN, the African Union and the Arab League to persuade other countries that the security situation on the ground in Darfur is improving, that Darfuris are leading ”normal lives”, and that an indictment would obstruct this progress and should therefore be delayed. Lamentably, South Africa’s leadership answered Sudan’s call, speaking out in national and international news media to press the Security Council to delay the indictment.
I only hope the continued attacks on civilians and gamesmanship by Khartoum are proof enough to convince South Africa that the court’s work in Darfur should be supported, not delayed.
To start with, the security situation in Darfur is not improving. The Sudan unilaterally declared a ceasefire in mid-November, but is already under investigation by the UN and condemned by the US for bombing villages and breaking its word — yet another time. According to Human Rights Watch, Sudanese forces and government-backed militias attacked more than a dozen villages in operations against rebel forces near Muhajariya, South Darfur, between October 5 and 17 2008, killing more than 40 civilians.
In August, the government of Sudan attacked Kalma refugee camp — home to 90 000 displaced Darfuris — with 60 heavily armed military vehicles, machine guns and automatic weapons. The attacks left at least 32 people dead and more than 100 injured. A month later, government security forces attacked ZamZam camp near el-Fasher in armoured vehicles. Again, significant civilian casualties were reported.
There are ongoing attacks against humanitarians in government-controlled towns, continued use of rape as a tactic of war, and obstructions to the deployment of the joint UN-African Union peace force. Coordinated bombings by government forces and ground attacks by their Janjaweed allies continue in North Darfur. Meanwhile, Sudan’s ambassador to the United Nations Abdalmahmoud Abdalhaleem still regularly issues threats against peacekeepers, aid workers, and the people of Darfur. ”Indictment and peace do not go together,” he said recently. If the council does not act [to delay the indictment], it will ”open the gates of hell in Sudan and the rest of the region.”
Nonetheless, even a significant decrease in violence in Darfur would not alone justify a deferral of the ICC indictment. After more than five years of horrific violence and insecurity, displacement and brutal sexual violence, the people — and particularly the women — of Darfur deserve more than the ”government men” negotiating with the ”rebel men”, and forgiving each other for the violence they have perpetrated primarily against women, children and other non-combatants. The people of Darfur deserve — and have clearly vocalised a desire for – justice and accountability. And while the ICC is not the only vehicle for justice, it is the only vehicle right now. Nothing should overshadow the imperative to end impunity for Darfur’s crimes.
As Louise Arbour, former chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), commented in a recent article: ”The ICC was founded on the principle that accountability for the world’s most serious crimes is a prerequisite for long-term peace and security.”
The creation of the International Criminal Court is a critical and significant development in international law that took more than five decades to establish. With its global reach, it has the potential to prevent or drastically reduce the deaths and devastation caused by violent conflict and abuses of power. To politicise the work of the court would be to undermine this potential. That is why the international community must do the right thing now and let the court do its work.
Dr Shirin Ebadi received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 for her significant and pioneering efforts for democracy and human rights, especially those of women, children and refugees in Iran