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Calls from West Darfur governor and Swedish Minister to surrender suspects; report from African Union Summit

08 July 2007

Dear all,

Please find below excerpts from media articles on President Al-Bashir's refusal to cooperate with the ICC despite calls from the West Darfur governor and a Swedish Minister to surrender suspects and a report from the African Union Summit in Accra.

Please take note of the Coalition's policy on situations before the ICC (below), which explicitly states that the CICC will not take a position on potential or pending situations before the court. The Coalition, however, will continue to provide the most up-to-date information about the ICC.

With regards,

Mariana Rodriguez Pareja
CICC Spanish Information Services Coordinator and Latin America Analyst
[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>

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I. AL-BASHIR REITERATES SUDAN WILL NOT COOPERATE WITH ICC, DESPITE LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL CALLS.

i. "Sudanese president rules out cooperation with ICC, " BBC Monitoring Middle East, 30 June 2007, (link unavailable)

"While addressing a media conference at Khartoum's Friendship Hall broadcast live on Sudan TV, President Al-Bashir today said that Sudan will not cooperate with the International Criminal Court. 'We refused the intervention of the International Criminal Court in our internal affairs as we are not members nor are we signatories and we do not recognize this agreement and we are amazed by the stance of the USA which refuses for its citizens to be tried by this court but want us to hand over our citizens to this court,' he said. President Al-Bashir also criticized the stances of some foreign representatives and said: 'We regret the stances of some international representatives. They come to Sudan and go to Darfur and come and flatter us with very positive talk and when they go back they say totally the opposite. I heard from the [Former] US Secretary of State Colin Powell after he visited Darfur, he came to my house and said I am sure that there has not been ethnic cleansing in Darfur but when he went back, he presented a report to the Congress saying that they was ethnic cleansing and genocide in Darfur.'"

ii. "Sudanese official urges prosecution of Darfur war crime suspects by ICC," BBC Monitoring Middle East/ Sudanese independent newspaper Al-Ayyam, 2 July 2007 (link unavailable)

"The governor of Western Darfur has assured his state's readiness to cooperate with the hybrid forces and at the same time emphasized the importance of sending those involved in war crimes to the International Criminal Court [ICC] at The Hague. Meanwhile a high-ranking security official has disclosed that more than 2000 soldiers from the National Redemption Front's [NRF] forces affiliated to Masalit tribe have abandoned the Front and joined the Abuja peace agreement. The governor of Western Darfur State, Abu-al-Qasim Imam spoke during a briefing presented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mutrif Sidiq in Al-Junaynah [capital of Western Darfur State], and said that the people of Darfur welcome the deployment of the hybrid peacekeeping forces. ...Meanwhile, Imam called for handing over of those suspected of committing war crimes in Darfur to the ICC...."

iii. "Governor calls to handover Darfur crimes suspect to ICC," The Sudan Tribune, 3 July 2007, http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article22677

"The governor of West Darfur, who is a former rebel, has urged on the Sudanese government to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) and handover Darfur crimes suspect to The Hague, Al-Ayam newspaper reported. The governor of Western Darfur State, Abuelgasim Imam al-Haj called for handing over of those suspected of committing war crimes in Darfur to the ICC. He was speaking during a briefing presented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mutrif Sidiq in the capital of West Darfur State, Al-Geneina yesterday.

AL-Haj, who is a former SLM/A commander from South Darfur, signed a peace deal with the Sudanese government in Tripoli, Libya, on November 18, 2006...."

iv. "The challenge of protecting civilians in Darfur: Sweden's response," by Gunilla Carlsson, Minister for International Development Cooperation, 2 July 2007,
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/MKOC-74QFXA?OpenDocument

" 'Thank you for meeting us here today, to address the situation of the civilian population in Darfur. This is one of the main challenges facing the international community and among the priority concerns of my work as Minister for International Development Cooperation.

We are here because hundreds of thousands of people have been abused, threatened, wounded, raped and killed. Because millions of women, children and men have been forced to leave their villages and homes.

Rules that are constantly broken in Darfur. Civilians, mostly women and children, continue to pay a heavy price. All parties to this conflict must respect international law, including international humanitarian law and humanitarian principles. Sudan must cooperate fully with the International Criminal Court. The Janjaweed militia continues to act with impunity despite the arrest warrants issued by the ICC. It is incumbent on the Government of Sudan to contain this militia and arrange for its disarmament.

Humanitarian access is crucial and in this regard, the Sudanese Government has a responsibility to fulfill its obligations under humanitarian law.'... "

II. AFRICAN UNION MEETING IN ACCRA

"Conflicts In the Spotlight at African Union Summit,", by Joyce Mulama, Inter Press Service, 4 July 2007, http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38406

"...Concerning the civil war in Darfur, delegates have described Khartoum's recent approval of a joint U.N.-AU peacekeeping force for the western Sudanese region as a positive move. ... While the United States has said events in Darfur amount to genocide, a U.N. commission appointed in 2004 concluded that this was not the case -- acknowledging, nonetheless, that serious human rights abuses had been perpetrated in the region. Al Bashir refuted the allegation of genocide from Khartoum in a satellite press conference for journalists covering the Accra summit, describing the charge as U.S. propaganda spread with a view to allowing Washington to take control of Sudan and its oil resources. The International Criminal Court has indicted Sudanese Humanitarian Affairs Minister Ahmed Haroun and a leader of the Janjaweed, Ali Muhammad Ali Abd al-Rahman, in connection with war crimes in Darfur. Haroun was in charge of the region in 2003 and 2004, when he served as deputy interior minister. Konare appealed to the Sudanese government to put an end to bombardments in Darfur. 'The stability in Darfur is fundamental for peace in Sudan and the entire region' he added...."

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CICC's policy on the referral and prosecution of situations before the ICC:

The Coalition for the ICC is not an organ of the court. The CICC is an independent NGO movement dedicated to the establishment of the International criminal court as a fair, effective, and independent International organization. The Coalition will continue to provide the most up-to-date information about the ICC and to help coordinate global Action to effectively implement the Rome statute of the ICC. The Coalition will also endeavor to respond to basic queries and to raise Awareness about the ICC's trigger mechanisms and procedures, as they Develop. The Coalition as a whole, and its secretariat, do not endorse or promote specific investigations or prosecutions or take a position on Situations before the ICC. However, individual CICC members May endorse Referrals, provide legal and other support on investigations, or develop Partnerships with local and other organizations in the course of their Efforts.

Communications to the ICC can be sent to:

ICC
P.O. box 19519
2500 cm the Hague
The Netherlands