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Beatrice le Fraper interview; Children of war; SG Ban Ki Moon to visit Darfur; Prosecutor's again calls for Sudan's cooperation; Opinions

30 Aug 2007

Dear all,

Please find below excerpts from media articles and statements on recent developments related to the ICC's investigation in Darfur. This digest includes extracts of an interview with Beatrice Le Fraper du Helen, from the ICC; a transcript of an ABC show on children of war; the amendments proposed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to the UN-AU hybrid force to be deployed in Sudan; ICC Prosecutor Moreno Ocampo calling for Khartoum to "cooperate immediately with the Court"; and an opinion article published by Sudan Tribune.

Please also 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 Communications
[email protected]

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I. INTERVIEW WITH BÉATRICE LE FRAPER DU HELEN

Radio France International (RFI) interview Béatrice Le Fraper du Helen, Director for International Cooperation for the International Criminal Court. To access the full interview (in French), please see http://www.rfi.fr/actufr/articles/092/article_55607.asp

"The International Criminal Court has jurisdiction over all the crimes committed in Darfur. We will demonstrate that there was a system set up there to terrorize the population and to persecute civilians...."

[Translation from French provided above by CICC]

II. CHILDREN OF WAR

"A Closer Look: Children of War," ABC News-World News Saturday, 25 August 2007, (link unavailable)

"In our 'Closer Look" tonight, children and genocide. This week, Amnesty International reported that the government of Sudan is still arming death squads in Darfur. Two of the alleged architects of the killing are now on trial in Europe. The prosecutors are using children's drawings as evidence against them.....

....There are English lessons, art classes, each a happy diversion from the suffering all around them. Until you look more closely. The children's drawings, these gathered from families who have fled Darfur to neighboring Chad, are visual testimony to the horror they only narrowly escaped. There were detailed depictions of the Arab Janjaweed militias, the armed men on horseback here, responsible for so much of the killing, raping and burning in Darfur. A 9-year-old boy drew a child thrown into a fire, a man executed with a bag over his head, women marched off at gunpoint. The pictures are so detailed that they've been deemed admissible evidence in the war crimes trial against two alleged architects of the violence now underway in Holland. Back in the art class, I spoke with Susu (PH). When I asked her what she remembers of the home she fled, she had one word, war. Half of the class are orphans. Everyone has lost some family...."

III. BAN KI MOON'S PLAN FOR DARFUR

i. "RÉPUBLIQUE CENTRAFRICAINE: Légère amélioration dans la situation des réfugiés du Darfour dans le nord-est," IRIN News, 20 August 2007,
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/KHII-76A82A?OpenDocument

"The cases of malaria and diarrhea are in clear reduction at the Sudanese refugees of the area of Sam Ouandja, in the North-East of the Central African Republic (RCA), but of many cases of malnutrition and anemia continue to be detected, especially in children, humanitarian agencies say.

The Sudanese refugees, a number no higher than 2.600 - according to the August 16's census by Humanitarian and Development Partnership Team in CAR - started to arrive at Sam Ouandja in May, many of them left ten days after their departure of Daffak, in South-Darfur. All these refugees were accommodated by the local authorities....

Meanwhile, the UN Secretary General Ki-moon, announced a modification to the draft Resolution authorizing the presence of the United Nations in the area and close Chad.

For this purpose, Mr. Ki Moon suggests that the European Union provides a military force and that UN undertakes the formation of the police force and civilians in fields such as human rights and rule of law.

[Translation from French provided above by CICC]

ii. "La France souhaite déployer des troupes de l'UE et de l'Onu au Tchad et en République centrafricaine," La Tribune, 22 August 2007,
http://www.latribune.fr/info/La-France-souhaite-deployer-des-troupes-de-l-UE-et-de-l-ONU-au-Tchad-et-en-Republique-centrafricaine-840-~-AP-ONU-DARFOUR-FRANCE-$Db=News/News.nsf-$Channel=Monde-$SubChannel=Afrique

"France circulated a proposal on Tuesday for a declaration, which would approve the deployment of troops of the European Union and the police force of the United Nations in Chad and in Central African Republic, in order to ensure the protection of civilians taken in the discharge of population coming from Darfur.

The outline of the declaration of the Security Council expresses the eagerness of this last to authorize an international operation aiming during one year at protecting the refugees, the moved people and the civil ones subjected at the risks, in the east of Chad and the North-East of the Central African Republic...."

[Translation from French provided above by CICC]

iii. "Ban Ki Moon presenta plan de tres puntos para conflicto en Sudán," Deutsche Presse-Agentur, 28 August 2007, (link unavailable)

"The UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon called today the international community to support his action plan to stop the blood shed in Sudan's violent conflict in Darfur.... Next week, Ki-Moon will travel to Sudan. 'I want to see it with my own two eyes the difficult conditions that the peacekeepers and the AU's soldiers will have to face,' said Ban, who will also travel to Chad and Libya, two countries also involved in the conflict....The Sudanese Ambassador to the UN Mr. Oman Baskir Mohamed Manis said that his government is not willing to surrender its nationals for alleged human rights violations in Darfur to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague...

'The ICC and our government represent two very different positions,' said Mr. Manis.

[Translation from Spanish provided above by CICC]

iv. "Sudan; United Nations Secretary-General Outlines Action Plan," Africa News, 28 August 2007 (link unavailable)

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen of the press. It's a great pleasure to meet you again.

As you all know, the UN Security Council last month approved a resolution dispatching 26,000 multinational peacekeepers to Sudan, jointly commanded by the United Nations and the African Union. It came after many months of difficult diplomacy. Now we have an historic opportunity. We must seize it.

That is why I will travel next week to Sudan, Chad and Libya. I want to go and see for myself the very difficult conditions under which our forces will operate. I want to know, first hand, the plight of those they seek to help.

But more, I want to create the foundations of a lasting peace and security. My goal is to lock in the progress we have made so far. To build on it so that this terrible trauma may one day cease.

Meanwhile, I am deeply concerned about the recent escalation in violence in Darfur that has caused the death of hundreds of people in the last few weeks alone. Attacks such as the one on the Adilla police on August 1, the repeated bombardments of villages in Southern Darfur that followed, including just three days ago, and the attack on Kilkil Abu Salam in Northern Darfur on August 18 are simply unacceptable. I appeal to the Government of Sudan and to all parties to refrain from military action and choose, at this critical juncture marked by the adoption of Security Council resolution 1769, the path of peace and political dialogue.

So, we must lose no more time.

I have a three-point action plan moving forward.

Let us begin with peace-keeping. Getting peace-keepers on the ground, speedily and effectively, requires a massive logistics effort, communications, water, food, supplies and infrastructure. This is one of the largest and most complex field operations the United Nations has ever undertaken, together with the African Union, and the work is well underway. But it cannot succeed without the cooperation of the government of Sudan, and I will seek its full support when I meet with President Omar al-Bashir in Khartoum.

Peacekeeping, alone, is not enough. It must be accompanied by a political solution. That is part two of my plan: to push the peace process.

Here, too, we are well on track. The Sudanese government is ready to come to the table. Earlier this month, opposition leaders from Darfur met in Tanzania to coordinate their negotiating positions for these talks. My aim is to keep up the momentum, to push the pace among the parties with a view toward issuing invitations to a full-fledged peace conference by the end of summer.

I will also visit Juba. While the international community must help find a solution to the crisis in Darfur, we must also continue to do our utmost to push the broader peace process, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement previously negotiated between south and north Sudan. Ultimately, this will require a more equitable sharing of power and resources among the central government and the country's regions, so that fully representative national elections can go forward as planned in 2009. Beyond Darfur, this remains an essential and fragile cornerstone of peace in Sudan.

The third element in my action plan for Darfur involves humanitarian aid and development. Any peace in Darfur must be built on solutions that go to the root causes of the conflict. We can hope for the return of more than 2 million refugees. We can safeguard villages and help rebuild homes. Ultimately, however, any real solution to Darfur's troubles involves something more sustained economic development.

Precisely what shape that might take is unclear. But we must begin thinking about it, now. There must be money for new roads and communications, as well as health, education, sanitation and social reconstruction programs. The international community needs to help organize these efforts, working with the government of Sudan as well as the host of international aid agencies and NGOs working so heroically on the ground.

Water is the first requirement. Earlier this summer, scientists presented evidence of a vast underground lake beneath south-western Sudan's arid plains, not unlike similar geologic features discovered elsewhere in the region. That can only be determined by exploratory drilling. A team of UN engineers is on the ground; more will follow in what we hope will be a global effort. If there is indeed water there, we will leave no stone unturned to help find it.

...... Basically you should understand that it is an extremely difficult process. It requires very patient and consistent efforts by not only the special envoys but all of the international community and particularly the Government of Sudan and movement leaders. We really hope sincerely that the rebel movement leaders will fully cooperate and take political decisions and demonstrate political will this time to participate in this political process. The meeting which was held in Arusha was an encouraging one. They have issued a joint statement in which they promise to hold in two to three months time a negotiation forum. As I said, I'm going to issue together with AU [Commission] chairman [Alpha Oumar] Konaré formal invitations before this summer goes so that we'll be able to hold the formal negotiation political meeting as soon as possible, preferably during the month of October. And I think we can build upon what we have agreed during last several months of political process.

.... [QUESTION TO MR. BAN KI MOON] Mr. Secretary-General, I'm wondering if you can use your trip to Sudan to insist that the Sudanese government arrest and handover alleged war criminals to be indicted by the International Criminal Court [ICC] or so you think this is time for international justice to take a back seat to international diplomacy?

[ANSWER BAN KI MOON] This is a very important issue. The ICC has issued the warrant of arrest for two people in Sudan and I'm going to discuss this matter with the President of the ICC? I'm going to meet with the President of the ICC this afternoon and this is a rather very serious and sensitive issue as we are now going through the implementation of a very important political process as well as [setting up the] hybrid operations...."

IV. MORENO OCAMPO SAYS SUDAN SHOULD COOPERATE WITH ICC

i. "Sudan: Country Not Cooperating On Arrests of War Crimes Suspects, Says Prosecutor," UN News Service (New York), 28 August 2007, http://allafrica.com/stories/200708290089.html

"The Sudanese Government has not moved to arrest two suspects wanted to stand trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan's war-wracked Darfur region, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said today, calling on Khartoum to cooperate immediately with the court.

In an interview with the UN News Centre, Luis Moreno-Ocampo said that it is 'totally unacceptable' that one of the two suspects, Ahmad Muhammad Harun, is currently Sudan's Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs.

....Unless the Government takes steps to arrest Mr. Harun and the other suspect, Janjaweed militia leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman (also known as Ali Kushayb), Mr. Moreno-Ocampo said he would inform the Security Council in his next progress report. He said there had been no progress from Khartoum since it was informed of the arrests and its responsibilities.

'They have to remember, Sudan, that this issue is a part of their duties now that we have these global legal standards' enshrined in the ICC, said the Prosecutor. 'The responsibility to execute the warrant is for the Government of Sudan,' and not for him or the ICC or the Security Council...."

ii. "ICC Prosecutor says Sudan not cooperating on Darfur crimes," Sudan Tribune, 28 August 2007, http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article23497

"The Sudanese Government has not moved to arrest two suspects wanted to stand trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan's war-wracked Darfur region, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said today, calling on Khartoum to cooperate immediately with the court.

In an interview with the UN News Centre, Luis Moreno-Ocampo said that it is 'totally unacceptable' that one of the two suspects, Ahmed Mohamed Haroun, is currently Sudan's Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs.

'He was coordinating actions to remove people from their own villages and push them into IDP [internally displaced person] camps, and now he... basically controls them,' Moreno-Ocampo said. 'Harun is still in charge, effectively, of the same people. He is like the fox being in charge of the chickens.'

Unless the Government takes steps to arrest Haroun and the other suspect, Janjaweed militia leader Ali Mohamed Ali Abdelrahman (also known as Ali Kushayb), Moreno-Ocampo said he would inform the Security Council in his next progress report.

He said there had been no progress from Khartoum since it was informed of the arrests and its responsibilities.

'They have to remember, Sudan, that this issue is a part of their duties now that we have these global legal standards' enshrined in the ICC, said the Prosecutor. 'The responsibility to execute the warrant is for the Government of Sudan,' and not for him or the ICC or the Security Council.

Moreno-Ocampo said his staff was trying to monitor the movements of the two suspects to determine their whereabouts, particularly now that an Interpol red notice - which allows the warrant to be circulated around the world with the request that the wanted person is arrested with a view to extradition - has been issued for Haroun.

Haroun and Kushayb are accused of targeting civilians in attacks on four villages in West Darfur between August 2003 and March 2004, according to their warrants, which outlines multiple counts of personal responsibility for murder, rape and pillaging for each man."

V. OPINIONS

i. "Darfur: A Little Less Talk, A Little More Action," by Anne Bartlett (Sudan Tribune), 27 August 2007, http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article23455

"Recent agreements in Arusha, Tanzania, on a common platform for peace negotiations seem - at least on the face of things - to be a helpful move in what has so far been in an intractable crisis in Darfur. Common positions among the rebel groups on power sharing, security, land and other key issues may provide a base on which negotiations can move forward. The importance of these talks is underscored by Salim Ahmed Salim's current efforts to talk Abdelwahid al-Nur around. But these fragile foundations are likely to be destroyed by the elephant in the room - the Sudanese government. Nimbly side-stepping the international community, it has now tiptoed into Darfur and is hell-bent on trampling its opponents underfoot, ahead of any significant force entering the region.

.... But the bigger question is why we are even debating these issues and why the international community does not see security as a precursor to meaningful progress. Of course, with a country the size of France it is almost impossible to produce absolute security. But IDP camps should not be a place where locals can be terrorized even after they have been chased out of their homeland. They should not be a place where local police can act as a proxy for government forces or Janjawiid; they should not be a place where a siege mentality prevails in order to survive everyday life. In the absence of any semblance of normality and frequent human rights abuses even inside a supposed safe zone, is it really surprising that some of the rebel groups are re-appraising their priorities? How can we expect leaders to carry a mandate from local people while those same people are looking up the barrel of a gun?

If we needed a reminder of the lengths that the Sudanese government will go to, we need look no further than the CPA. Moving at less than a snail's pace, the Government of Sudan has steadfastly refused to give the people of the South their due. It has failed to share revenues, reneged on border agreements left and right and contributed to the rapidly deteriorating situation in the province of Abyei. In fact, in all of the key issues that the Southerners need to re-develop, the GoS has reneged. So whose fantasy suggests that the Government of Sudan government will play fair in Darfur? Certainly not mine, nor the people of Sudan.

We have reached a point where blunt talk is needed. .....

Peace is never a one-sided affair. While getting the "rebel house" in order is a clear priority, it is difficult to see how this can occur while the Government of Sudan is breaking every rule in the book with apparent impunity. Failure to respond satisfactorily to the ICC, flagrant abuse of every agreement ever made with the international community and a history of poor implementation is no place to start. History has shown that Khartoum only responds to toughness, not talk. So let's start as we mean to go on: a little less talk; a little more action.

ii. "Sudan: AU Decision On Darfur Misguided," by Okiya Omtatah Okoiti (The Nation), 27 August 2007, http://allafrica.com/stories/200708270539.html

"The decision by the African Union to whittle down the United Nations-AU peacekeeping operation in Darfur to an African troops-only affair is ill-conceived.

Ever since the Darfur crisis became a major world tragedy, the AU has tended to endorse the obfuscation of the Government of Sudan.

The decision to lock out non-African troops is tantamount to the AU's unilateral surrender to the opposition by the tyrannical Khartoum regime to the deployment of UN troops in Darfur.

In fact, it is instructive that the AU's top diplomat, Mr Alpha Oumar Konare, announced the unfortunate decision in Khartoum after meeting Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.

Among other things, the top echelons of the Sudanese government fear a UN deployment will support investigations of the International Criminal Court that could incriminate them in massive human rights abuses in Darfur.

Insisting on an all-African deployment, whose very limited investigative and other capabilities are well-known, is their way of protecting themselves.

Khartoum also knows that apart from the lack of funds, African countries cannot raise a well-trained, well-equipped, and mobile army with the military capacity for deterrent coercive action required for effective peacekeeping in Darfur.

The political issues at the heart of the crisis go back a long way, far beyond early 2003 when rebels took up arms against Khartoum. Solving them requires realising that the country is multi-religious and multi-ethnic, and then dismantling Sudan's entire socio-econo-political system that imposes an indisputable dominance of the Arab-Muslim people over the rest of the country.

Political representation has to be rebalanced, and limits put on Arabisation and Islamisation policies.

Though the essential official line of the Khartoum regime and its allies is that there is no genocide underlying this conflict that has killed an estimated 400,000 people and displaced 2 million others, and that the conflict is not an ethnic one, but rather 'economic', and is no more than a struggle between herdsmen and farmers fighting over diminishing land and water resources, the fact is that Darfur is a major line of friction between the Arab world and Black Africa.

The major logistical challenges stem from three main elements. First is the mind-boggling scope of the necessary deployment in an area covering more than half the size of Kenya. Internally displaced persons camps are scattered, armed groups are often mobile, and the border with Chad is porous.

Hence, protection of civilians and 'containment' of armed group activities can only be assured by highly mobile infantry units with numerous deployment points backed by strong air surveillance and a quick reaction force.

The second is poor infrastructure. Roads are in poor shape. Air supply also faces major hindrances. Heavy carriers can only land in two Darfur airports - Nyala and El Fasher. Other locations can only be serviced by helicopters or special planes, such as C-130...."

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