ICC Prosecutor's First Darfur Case
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The MONITOR Journal of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court ISSUE NO. 34 / MAY-OCTOBER 2007 ICC Prosecutor’s First Darfur Case: Some Tough Challenges Ahead By Géraldine Mattioli** n 27 February 2007, the prosecutor of the Interna- tional Criminal Court (ICC) applied to Pre-Trial OChamber I for summonses against State Minister Ahmed Harun and Janjaweed militia leader Ali Kushayb, who are alleged to have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur, Sudan. Arriving almost two years after the UN Security Council’s unprecedented refer- ral of the Darfur situation to the ICC, the nearly 100-page filing marks the start of the first Darfur case before the ICC. The prosecutor’s much-anticipated announcement was an important first step toward justice for the victims in Darfur. Thousands have endured land and air attacks and watched their villages burn. Many have been killed, tortured, raped or forced to leave their homes. It is estimated that 200,000 Darfurians have died and more than 2 million have been displaced since the beginning of the conflict in early 2003. The ICC prosecutor’s case is the first serious attempt to hold individuals criminally liable for their role in the events Victims from Darfur await food rations at a camp for the displaced. Credit: Darfur Consortium in Darfur. It sends a strong signal that such atrocities will no longer go unpunished. It also tests a different strategy Disappointment at a modest start for the ICC prosecutor, who in other cases (against DRC’s Thomas Lubanga and the leadership of Uganda’s Lord’s Re- Some have expressed skepticism and disappointment at the sistance Army) had sought sealed arrest warrants. prosecutor’s public naming of two suspects for the crimes in Darfur. Why did it take so long? Why only two accused? On 2 May, Pre-Trial Chamber I issued arrest warrants for Kushayb and Harun. The Court held that the prose- Human Rights Watch believes that the prosecutor’s case cutor’s submission establishes “reasonable grounds to be- against Harun and Kushayb is a representative sampling lieve” that the individuals committed the crimes alleged in of crimes in Darfur. The detailed submission of the pros- the filing. The judges found that arrest warrants are nec- ecutor asserts that Harun and Kushayb bear responsibil- essary to ensure the presence of the two suspects in court. ity for 51 counts of alleged war crimes and crimes against In its decision to issue warrants, the Pre-Trial Chamber humanity, including persecution, murders, forcible trans- noted the Sudanese foreign affairs ministry’s public state- fer, rape, inhumane acts, torture, destruction of property ment that Khartoum will not cooperate with the ICC. It and pillaging. The case sheds light on Khartoum’s policy also noted indications that Ahmed Harun is concealing of using Janjaweed militias in Darfur with knowledge that evidence, and the fact that Ali Kushayb is in Sudanese they would attack civilians. According to information col- custody and thus unable to voluntarily appear before the lected by Human Rights Watch, Ahmed Harun, then a Court without a warrant. deputy minister in the Ministry of Interior, coordinated the recruitment and use of Janjaweed militias and was seen At this early stage in proceedings, the first ICC case in Su- in meetings in Darfur encouraging them to “kill the Fur.” dan faces numerous challenges. Ali Kushayb led deadly attacks on a number of villages in CONTINUED ON P. 12 INSIDE: Developments at the Court, Situation country coverage, Regional updates, • Kirsch Visits Guatemala pages 4-10 pages 11-17 pages 18-23 • Gulf Coalitions Score • ASP news • Darfur • Ratification in Africa Victory in Yemen • Special feature on the • DRC • Japan and Indonesia’s crime of aggression • Northern Uganda Path to Accession The United States and the • Gender and the ICC • ICC Support Grows in Europe ICC, page 24 Transitions n January, the Coalition for the Interna- cate, she brings many valuable skills to our terned at various NGOs, including a human tional Criminal Court (CICC) Secre- organization. She has worked as a program rights organization in Santiago, Chile and Itariat bade farewell to Sally Eberhardt, communications specialist consultant for an immigration and asylum project. the former director of communications. Sally UNICEF, a consulting editor and manag- Anjali Kamat, outreach liaison for the Mid- ing editor for the Center for Reproductive is pursuing freelance work and is currently dle East/North Africa and Europe, is mov- Rights, and an associate editor of interna- working on a documentary film about the ICC ing on to be a producer at , tional news at magazine. Democracy Now ABOUTTHE CICC Ms. with Skylight Pictures. During her two and a her favorite US-based source of news, where half dedicated years at the CICC, Sally con- The CICC also saw Eleanor Thompson she hopes to help improve the coverage and tributed to the CICC’s media strategies and leave in January to accept a fellowship op- understanding of international justice is- advocacy. In particular, she made an impact 2 portunity and travel to Sierra Leone, the sues. During her two years at the Coalition in monitoring the United States’ bilateral im- Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda Secretariat, with the crucial support of the munity agreement (BIA) campaign and con- to work with local NGOs on child soldier is- MENA team and national members, she tributed to the monthly universal ratification sues. During her time as program assistant, helped launch a quarterly Arabic newslet- campaign. She played a major part in CICC’s Eleanor spearheaded a project to redesign ter, increased Arabic resources, and worked several publications, including The Monitor. our membership database and played an in- closely on developing ratification and out- With the beginning of the New Year, the strumental role in the recent expansion of reach campaigns in Lebanon, Bahrain, Mo- the CICC Steering Committee. rocco, Yemen, Sudan and Iran. CICC welcomed Anaga Dalal as head of information and communications. With al- Brigitte Hamadey, a recent graduate of We wish Sally, Eleanor and Anjali the best most 10 years of experience as a communi- Boston College and a former CICC intern, of luck and we welcome Anaga and Brigitte cations professional and human rights advo- is now the program assistant. She has in- to our team! The Regional Coordination Sania Al-Aswadi Middle East/North Africa Technical Support Assistant MONITOR Amal Basha Middle East/North Africa Coordinator Francis Dako Francophone Africa Regional Coordinator Secretariats in New York and The Hague Benson Chinedu Olugbuo Anglophone Africa Regional Coordinator William R. Pace Convenor Fátima da Camara Lusophone Campaign Adviser Tanya Karanasios Program Director Evelyn Serrano Asia/Pacific Regional Coordinator Gloria Ester Catibayan Office Assistant, The Philippines Staci Alziebler Financial Officer Rebecca Lozada Asia Program Associate Zoya Craig Office Coordinator Luisa Mascia Europe Regional Coordinator Anaga Dalal Head of Information and Communications Maria Cavarretta European Campaign Officer Katrina Dorn Accounting and Human Resources Associate Paulina Vega-Gonzalez Latin America/Caribbean Regional Coordinator Linda Gueye French Information Services Coordinator Mariana Rodríguez Pareja Spanish Information Coordinator and Latin America Analyst Brigitte Hamadey Program Assistant Anjali Kamat Outreach Liaison for the Middle East/North Africa and Europe CICC Informal Steering Committee Spencer Lanning IT Consultant Amnesty International Views expressed here are those of the Oriane Maillet Communications and Program Assistant, The Hague Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development author and not necessarily those of the CICC Cecilia Nilsson Kleffner Legal Adviser, The Hague Asociación pro Derechos Humanos Secretariat, its members or our funders. Richard Nsanzabaganwa Outreach Liason for Africa Civil Resource Development and Documentation Centre Isabelle Olma Legal Officer, The Hague Comisión Andina Juristas Current major funding for the CICC is Wasana Punyasena Legal Officer Fédération Internationale des Ligues des Droits de l’Homme provided by: the European Commission, Leila Rachidi Senior Development Officer Human Rights First the Ford Foundation, the John D. and Denis Ramirez Website and Database Developer Human Rights Network - Uganda Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Governments of Belgium, Finland and Brigitte Suhr Director of Regional Programs Human Rights Watch Esti Tambay Information and Analysis Officer The Netherlands. CICC receives important No Peace Without Justice Peony Trinh Website and Publications Coordinator additional funding from the Foundation Parliamentarians for Global Action Open Society Institute (Zug) and from the Francesca Varda Outreach Liaison for Latin America/Caribbean and Asia/Pacific The Redress Trust governments of Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Erik van der Veen Development and Policy Officer, The Hague Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice Astrid de Vries Office and Finance Coordinator, The Hague Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, World Federalist Movement Oswaldo Zavala Associate Legal Officer, The Hague Sweden and Switzerland. CICC Welcomes New Steering Committee Members from Asia, Africa and Latin America ABOUTTHE CICC n 1995, the CICC consisted of 25 mem- Thailand Centre for Human Rights and Democratic ber organizations. Today—with a global • Civil Resource Development and Docu- Development), the International Commis- Imembership of more than 2,000 organi- mentation Centre (CIRDDOC),