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Darfur: Release of ICC War Crimes Suspect Ali Kushayb for 'insufficient evidence against him'; Interview with Beatrice Le Fraper from the ICC on Darfur; Appeal by Justice Goldstone to Canada and Opinion Article

02 Oct 2007

Dear all,

Please find below information on recent developments related to the
International Criminal Court's investigation in Darfur.

This message includes articles reporting the release of ICC war crimes
suspect Ali Mohamed Ali Abdel-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, by the
government of Sudan which is claiming there is insufficient evidence against
him; an interview with Beatrice Le Fraper, from the ICC/OTP on Darfur; an
appeal by Justice Richard Goldstone for Canada 'to put more pressure on the
powerful democracies to do something about compliance in Sudan'; and an
opinion article published by the San Francisco Chronicle.

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 and current situations before the Court or situations under
analysis. The Coalition, however, will continue to provide the most
up-to-date information about the ICC.

Best,

Mariana Rodriguez Pareja
CICC Communications
[email protected]
*******

I. SUDANESE GOVERNMENT RELEASES KUSHAYB BECAUSE OF LACK OF EVIDENCE

i. Statement the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2 October 2007,
http://www.mfa.gov.sd/arabic/newsViewer.php?id= 1640 (in Arabic only)

Sudanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Lam Akol said that the ICC has no
jurisdiction over Sudan since it is not a state party and added that
Kushayb's release indicates that there is no tangible evidence against him,
further weakening the Court's stance. Lam Akol also states that Ocampo's
presence at United Nations Headquarters in New York on 18 September 2007 was
merely political. Akol also references the Rome Statute and highlights its
provisions for complementarity, giving states the right to prosecute their
own citizens.

[Translation from the Arabic is unofficial and provided by the CICC
Secretariat]

ii. "Sudan releases Darfur war crime suspect wanted by ICC," Sudan Tribune,
2 October 2007, http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article24036

"The Sudanese government disclosed for the first time that a Darfur war
crimes suspect wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) was released
from detention.

Sudan's foreign minister Lam Akol revealed in press statements yesterday
that Ali Mohamed Ali Abdel-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb was freed due
to lack of evidence against him.

The Sudanese government was believed to have been holding Kushayb in custody
since November for what they described as "suspicion of violating Sudanese
laws" and that he was under investigation for criminal acts in Darfur.

... The warrant for Haroun lists 42 counts including murder, torture and
persecution, while the warrant for Kushayb lists 50 counts including murder
and intentionally attacking civilians.

.. The news of Kushayb's release is likely to anger ICC officials and human
rights groups who allege that he led attacks against civilians. Kushayb has
been nicknamed as the 'Butcher of Darfur' by Darfur refugees.."

II. INTERVIEW WITH BEATRICE LE FRAPER OF THE ICC

"Interview with Beatrice Le Fraper, Director of International Cooperation at
the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court," Radio
France Internationale,
http://www.rfi.fr/actufr/articles/093/article_56897.asp (five minute audio
file in French only)

"At the time of the opening of the General Assembly of the UN in New York,
the ICC Prosecutor said "There will be no solution in Darfur as long as
Ahmed Haroun remains as the Sudanese Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and is
not stopped', Luis Moreno-Ocampo declared from The Hague.

'As long as Ahmed Haroun remains at the government and is not stopped nor
transferred to The Hague, there will not be a lasting and effective solution
in Darfur,' Beatrice Le Fraper said."

[Translation from the French is unofficial and provided by the CICC
Secretariat]

III. CALL FOR STATES TO SUPPORT ICC INVESTIGATION

i. "Canada urged to see war crimes prosecuted," Edmonton Journal, 29
September 2007,
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/cityplus/story.html?id=073a6c74-1
ab3-4954-acec-b5e19f93bb2a

"A pioneering war crimes prosecutor urges Canada to take a leading role in
bringing Sudanese war criminals to justice.

Speaking to a packed audience at the University of Alberta's law centre this
week, Richard Goldstone said the Sudanese government is ignoring arrest
warrants for its citizens accused of war crimes in the Darfur region.

While leaders of countries such as Britain and France have called for
actions against Sudan, they have failed to highlight the role the
International Criminal Court should play in bringing war criminals to
justice, he said.

'Countries like yours and mine should be putting more pressure on the
powerful democracies to do something about compliance in Sudan and other
countries with orders issued by the International Criminal Court,' said
Goldstone, a native of South Africa who served as chief prosecutor of the
ad-hoc tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
'Unless the political will can be mustered, the court is being hobbled,
weakened and its credibility is being undercut,' he said.

Several times in his lecture, Goldstone noted the pivotal role Canada played
in helping establish the International Criminal Court based in The Hague. He
also praised Canada's foreign policy, which, he said, is based on respect
for human rights.."

ii. "Countries must enforce indictments of war crimes court, Liechtenstein
tells UN," UN News Services, 1 October 2007
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=24120&Cr=general&Cr1=debate

"The creation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been 'the
crowning success' of recent progress towards the rule of law and global
justice, Liechtenstein's Foreign Minister told the General Assembly today,
but that achievement must be backed up by arrests of all the people indicted
by the Court.

Rita Kieber-Beck called on the UN and all Member States to cooperate with
the ICC to ensure that the arrests are made and the indictees are brought to
The Hague in the Netherlands, where the Court is based, for trial.

.. The Darfur indictees are Ahmed Muhammad Harun, currently the Minister of
State for Humanitarian Affairs, and Janjaweed militia leader Ali Muhammad
Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb. The LRA indictees are the
leader Joseph Kony, and commanders Vincent Otti, Okot Odhiambo, Dominic
Ongwen and Raska Lukwiya.

... Ms. Kieber-Beck said the Security Council's decision to refer the
situation in Darfur - where more than 200,000 people have been killed and at
least 2.2 million others forced to flee their homes since 2003 - 'was a
landmark decision, both legally and politically.."

IV.OPINION

"The gloom over Darfur", by Joel Brinkley for San Francisco Chronicles, 30
September 2007,
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/09/30/EDLJSFNDF.DTL

"As Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary-general, works to convene a
Darfur peace conference in Libya next month, the history of the last few
years holds such a stench of failure that I fear his effort is doomed before
it begins.

In fact, looking at the facts as they stand today, my advice to the
secretary-general: Cancel the whole enterprise!

The Darfur conflict began in early 2003, but it was not until two years
later that foreign leaders began trying to mediate a settlement. The story
of one of these efforts, in November 2005, may well foretell the outcome of
next month's event.

... Unfortunately for Zoellick, just a few days earlier, Minni Minawi, one
leader of the main Darfur rebel group, had himself elected chairman while
the longtime incumbent chairman, Abdul Wahid Nur, was away. With that, the
rebel group splintered into two, and the two men formed an enduring bitter
hatred.

Zoellick said his strategy was to get all of the rebels, including these
two, to speak with one voice and offer one strategy. Otherwise the
government in Khartoum would continue to play on their differences. He
invited both men to Nairobi.

.. Now we have the secretary-general of the United Nations planning
still-another peace conference of his own - and in just one month. Wouldn't
you know it, Minawi has agreed to attend, but Nur has not, saying he won't
attend a peace conference until, effectively, the war is over. Another rebel
leader, Ahmed Abdel Shafi, says he will not attend until a cease-fire takes
hold.

The Sudanese government has, of course, agreed to attend. What could be
better than to be seen as the only reasonable party to this conflict? Just
to verify the absurdity of that, last week Sudan formed its own committee to
investigate human-rights violations in Darfur, such as ethnic cleansing,
genocide, mass rapes and unspeakable carnage. This was billed as a
complement to the International Criminal Court's Darfur investigation. To
head this new committee, President Omar el-Bashir appointed Ahmed Muhammed
Harun, Sudan's interior minister from 2003 to 2005. In that job he
recruited, funded and armed the militias responsible for the mass murder in
Darfur.

So if Bashir says he is interested in peace, understand that his interest is
to participate in a process that will fall apart because his enemies cannot
agree. Then he is free to continue the ethnic cleansing in Darfur for
another few months, or years. .."

*****
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