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Sudan: Media Coverage on Prosecutor Impending Presentation

23 Feb 2007

Dear All,

As announced by an International Criminal Court media advisory
yesterday, on Tuesday, 27 February 2007, ICC Prosecutor Luis
Moreno-Ocampo "will submit evidence, in connection with named
individuals, of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur." In
this regard, please find below:

A. GENERAL MEDIA COVERAGE: in addition to the Reuters article circulated
yesterday, other preliminary media coverage of this development by the
Associated Press, UN News Service, and Agence France Presse.

B. ICRC NEUTRALITY PREVENTS TESTIMONY IN ICC PROCEEDINGS: Jakob
Kellenberger, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC), has indicated that the ICRC is barred by principles of
neutrality and confidentiality from testifying in any ICC proceedings on
Darfur. "The ICRC will never be a witness in court proceedings," he said
during a press briefing following a 5-day trip to Sudan. Kellenberger
also discussed the growing insecurity in Sudan and the ongoing "gross
violations" being committed by all sides.

C. ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARIES: an in-depth analysis by the Institute for
War and Peace Reporting about the political dynamics in Sudan, issues
surrounding Sudan's AU chairmanship bid, continuing Sudanese opposition
to a "hybrid" peacekeeping force, and the impending ICC announcement.

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.

Warm Regards,
Esti Tambay
Information and Analysis Officer
Coalition for the International Criminal Court

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A. GENERAL MEDIA COVERAGE

1. Associated Press (via Sudan Tribune), Mike Corder, "International
Court prosecutor to present Darfur war crimes evidence next week," 22
February 2007
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article20396

"The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court will disclose
names next week of suspects believed to be involved in atrocities in
Sudan's Darfur region and present judges with evidence linking them to
war crimes, his office announced Thursday. "Prosecutor Luis
Moreno-Ocampo will submit evidence, in connection with named
individuals, of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur," said
a prosecution statement.

Once the evidence has been filed with judges on Tuesday, they will study
it and have the power to issue arrest warrants if they believe any of
the individuals named has a case to answer. It is unclear how long that
process might take. [...]

Since the U.N. Security Council asked Moreno-Ocampo to investigate
possible war crimes in Darfur, his investigators have interviewed scores
of suspects around the world and at least two Sudanese officials in
Khartoum, but have not been able to visit Darfur itself to search crime
scenes for evidence and interview victims. If the judges decide to issue
arrest warrants, it remains to be seen if they can be executed.

Sudanese authorities have not signed the international treaty that
created the court, and claim it has no jurisdiction in the country. "We
as a government are willing and able to try all perpetrators of offenses
in Darfur, and for this reason the ICC has absolutely no right to assume
any jurisdiction," Justice Minister Mohammed Ali al-Mardi told The
Associated Press in an interview last month. [...]"

2. UN News Service, "International Criminal Court to Name Darfur War
Crimes Suspects Next Week,"
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=21654&Cr=sudan&Cr1=

"The International Criminal Court's (ICC) chief prosecutor will next
Tuesday name the first suspects accused of committing war crimes and
crimes against humanity in Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region, a United
Nations spokesperson said today. [...]

"The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC)
announced earlier today that on February 27th, Prosecutor Luis
Moreno-Ocampo will submit evidence to the Court's Pre-Trial Chamber in
connection with individuals suspected of having committed war crimes and
crimes against humanity in Darfur," spokesperson Marie Okabe told
reporters in New York.

Speaking in December to the Council, Mr. Moreno-Ocampo said that his
first case will focus on a series of incidents in 2003 and 2004, when
conflict emerged in Darfur as Government forces and allied militia
clashed with rebel groups seeking greater autonomy. The UN inquiry also
found credible evidence that rebel forces were responsible for possible
war crimes, including the murder of civilians and pillage. [...]

Speaking to reporters in Austria earlier today, Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon outlined recent UN peace initiatives, including a letter he sent
on 24 January to Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al Bashir stressing the
importance of more support for the African Union mission and also the
need for the rapid deployment of a hybrid UN-African Union force to the
region. [...]"

3. Agence France Presse, "Darfur crimes to have their day in court," 23
February 2007
(link not yet available)

"Four years after the start of a war that gave rise to Africa's latest
allegations of genocide, the criminals of Sudan's western Darfur region
may soon have their day in court. The prosecutor for the International
Criminal Court will present evidence next week of alleged war crimes
committed in the Darfur region of Sudan, the court announced Thursday.

After evidence is presented, judges will decide whether to open an
inquiry against the suspects with the aim of eventually issuing
international arrest warrants. Some analysts have said there is little
doubt arrest warrants will be issued.

Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has investigated accusations of
persecution, torture, rape and murder since June 2006. He has focused on
events alleged to have occurred between 2003 and 2004, considered the
most violent period involving the crisis in Darfur. His team has visited
17 countries and conducted more than 100 interviews. However, he has
been criticized by non-governmental organizations and the UN high
commissioner for not sending investigators to Darfur itself, citing
security concerns. [...]

****************************************************
B. ICRC NEUTRALITY PREVENTS TESTIMONY IN ICC PROCEEDINGS

1. Associated Press (via International Herald Tribune), "ICRC chief says
neutral body would never testify in a Darfur war crimes trial," 23
February 2007
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/23/europe/EU-GEN-Red-Cross-Darfur
.php

"The international Red Cross is barred by principles of neutrality and
confidentiality from testifying if the International Criminal Court
holds war crimes trials for those accused of Darfur atrocities, its
president said Friday.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has the largest presence of
any aid group in Darfur and has frequently in the last four years
pleaded with both the Sudan's government and Darfur rebel groups to stop
what Jakob Kellenberger called "very gross violations of international
humanitarian law."

Nevertheless, Kellenberger said the neutral ICRC, guardian of the Geneva
Convention on the conduct of war, was bound by its strict principles of
confidentiality and would never make public the conversations it has
held with officials and rebels, or the observations of its nearly 2,000
Sudanese and international staff working in the country. "That's not for
the public. That's for the authorities concerned," Kellenberger told
journalists at the ICRC's Geneva headquarters. "The ICRC will never be a
witness in court proceedings."

The issue is a sensitive one for the ICRC, which is frequently
criticized for refusing to go public with its denunciations of
atrocities, most notably during the Holocaust. [...]

The office of the international court's prosecutor said Thursday he
would disclose names next week of suspects in Darfur atrocities and
present judges with evidence linking them to war crimes. The judges will
have the power to issue warrants, but it remains to be seen if they can
be executed. Sudanese authorities have not signed the international
treaty that created the court, and claim it has no jurisdiction in the
country."

2. Reuters, Stephanie Nebehay, "ICRC sees "gross violations" by all
sides in Darfur," 23 February 2007
http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSL23551978._CH_.2400

"The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned
on Friday that growing insecurity jeopardised its aid operations in
Sudan's Darfur region, where it is often alone in addressing massive
needs.

Jakob Kellenberger, speaking after a five-day trip to Sudan which
included stops in Darfur, also said all sides of the conflict were
committing human rights violations against civilians. "It is a context
of very gross violations of international humanitarian law, with a main
responsibility on the government side, but not only on the government
side. There have also been gross violations on the side of armed
groups," he said.

Kellenberger said he stressed to all parties of the four-year-old
conflict that the agency needed a safe environment to continue its
life-saving work.
"What is widening is the gap between needs and the possibility of
access. It is a very serious concern," he told a news conference in
Geneva. "I do expect parties to the conflict to really respect the
security of our staff. ... Our main problem is banditry and criminality
in the region," he added. [...] Both government and rebel authorities
had "clear responsibilities" to uphold international humanitarian law
and protect civilians and aid workers, he said.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is due to name the first suspects
accused of committing war crimes in Darfur next Tuesday, with
investigators citing evidence of rape, torture, murder and sexual
violence in the region. Kellenberger said ICRC officials would not
testify to the international court on atrocities in Darfur, in keeping
with its neutral role in armed conflicts. [...]"

****************************************************
C. ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARIES

1. Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), Stephanie Nieuwoudt,
"Al-Bashir Calls World's Bluff on Darfur," 16 February 2007
http://www.iwpr.net/?p=acr&s=f&o=333337&apc_state=henpacr

"Fearing that President Omar al-Bashir may be on a list of Sudanese to
be indicted soon of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan's
western region of Darfur, the African Union's heads of state and
government have lost their collective nerve and withdrawn their
undertaking to appoint al-Bashir as their new chairman.

Having promised the Sudanese president the top AU post a year ago, their
credibility and that of the AU itself was at stake when the leaders
convened for their annual summit in Addis Ababa at the end of January.
They knew that if they kept their word, pledged a year earlier at their
summit in Banjul, Gambia, they would create a bizarre situation and
leave themselves wide open to severe criticism and ridicule. [...] The
message the AU would have sent to the world was that it condones
impunity. [...]

But Jendayi Frazer, the United States' Under-Secretary of State for
Africa, attending the summit, did not mince her words, "The AU's choice
clearly shows that African leaders want the conflict in Darfur to end. I
hope Bashir heard the message loudly."

The withholding of the promised chairmanship from al-Bashir hinged on
the question of whether the situation in Darfur had improved in the past
year and whether Sudan had honoured peace agreements it has signed. In
fact, most analysts are agreed that the crisis in Darfur has
deteriorated since January 2006, with an increase in attacks by
government forces and its militia allies on the civilian population and
rebels in the vast western region which is about the size of France.
[...]

The six Aid organisations [Oxfam International, Save the Children,
Action Against Hunger, Care International, the Norwegian Refugee Council
and World Vision] said in their statement [to the AU Summit] that splits
in the rebel movements and a widespread lack of accountability "have
left Darfur increasingly lawless, leading to the direct targeting of aid
workers". [...]

At a media conference held in Addis Ababa by a group of 40
non-governmental organisations opposed to the proposed chairmanship of
al-Bashir, spokesman Alioune Tine drew attention to a statement made by
President Paul Kagame of Rwanda. "Kagame said what is happening in
Darfur is the mass extermination of people," said Tine. "It reminds him
of what happened during the Rwandan genocide of 1994." [...]

Sudan expert Professor Eric Reeves, of Smith College in Northampton,
Massachusetts, said it takes little analysis to realise that al-Bashir
and his National Islamic Front, NIF, government have no intention of
ever allowing the AU-UN "hybrid operation" to begin. "Yet the world
continues to pretend that al-Bashir and the NIF have somehow agreed to
such a putative force, even when all the evidence argues against such a
conclusion," said Professor Reeves. "Such empty bluffs, and all they
imply are not lost on Khartoum's ruthless survivalists. [...] Fiona
Lortan, senior political officer in the AU's defence and security
division, told IWPR that the situation in Darfur will not improve unless
the government accepts the entire "hybrid" peacekeeping package. [...]

Meanwhile, the Khartoum government is waiting with bated breath for the
impending announcement by Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the chief prosecutor of
the International Criminal Court in The Hague, of indictments for war
crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur. The ICC is
believed to have been investigating 56 people. Fear that charges and
warrants for arrest will be laid against al-Bashir was one consideration
for the AU when it withheld its chairmanship from Sudan's head of state.
But, based on its record so far, the fledgling ICC will avoid laying
charges against "big men" and concentrate its huge resources on "small
fry" - in which case al-Bashir and his NIF colleagues will be able to
celebrate at having called yet another of the world community's bluffs
on Darfur."

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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:
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2500 CM The Hague
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