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Sudan: Remarks by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; Darfur Peace and Accountability Act; Reactions to Darfur Peace Agreement and Role of Justice

11 May 2006

Dear All,

Please find below information on recent developments related to the Interna=
tional Criminal Court's investigation in Sudan:

(1) UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour issued a statement =
following her recent visit to Sudan, noting "Where impunity is allowed to p=
revail, protection will remain elusive. The international community took a =
significant step in this direction in the case of Darfur last year when the=
Security Council referred the situation there to the International Crimina=
l Court. It is important for the ICC to exercise its mandate with relation =
to Darfur robustly and visibly, with the full cooperation of the GNU and th=
e support of the international community, especially in light of the fact t=
hat Sudanese efforts at establishing accountability and ensuring justice an=
d reparation for the victims and survivors of the conflict have so far prov=
ed inadequate."

(2) On 6 April 2006, the United States House of Representatives passed the =
Darfur Peace and Accountability Act (H.R. 3127), which complements (but doe=
s not supersede) last year's Darfur Accountability Act. In Section 2 - FIND=
INGS, the Act mentions Resolution 1593.

(3) Following the Darfur Peace Agreement, please find below two reactions t=
hat refer to the need for justice and welcoming the role of the ICC. An opi=
nion-piece notes, "As those responsible for these crimes are brought to jus=
tice, these indictments for atrocities should be a powerful deterrent to pe=
rpetrators of such atrocities in the future." Physicians for Human Rights i=
ssued a statement stating, "lasting peace cannot be truly secured without j=
ustice: criminal prosecution and compensation for the victims."=20

Please take note of the Coalition's policy on situations before the ICC (be=
low), which explicitly states that the CICC will NOT take a position on pot=
ential or pending situations before the Court. The Coalition, however, will=
continue to provide the most up-to-date information about the ICC.=20=20
=20
Warm Regards,
Esti Tambay
Information and Analysis Officer
Coalition for the International Criminal Court
=20
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A. REMARKS BY UN HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

1. Statement by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour Followi=
ng Visit to Sudan on 30 April-5 May 2006 - 5 May 2006=20
http://www.unog.ch/80256EDD006B9C2E/(httpNewsByYear_en)/7FB33B3A5C6FAA94C12=
57165004B2AB0?OpenDocument

"I visited Sudan for the first time as High Commissioner for Human Rights i=
n September 2004. [...] My second visit to Sudan comes amid ongoing talks i=
n Abuja on a peace settlement for Darfur. I hope all parties will come toge=
ther on an agreement that could allow for more vigorous steps to bring an e=
nd to the protracted suffering of the people of the region.=20

The human rights crisis in Darfur was the reason for my first visit to Suda=
n. A year and a half later the situation is just as critical, and in some r=
espects worse. There are continuing attacks on civilians, raids and pillagi=
ng of villages and rape and gender-based violence. [...]

In discussing the critical situation in Darfur with Sudanese local and nati=
onal authorities I was struck, as I was during my first visit, by their eff=
orts to minimize the gravity of the problem. All other accounts differ from=
official claims that there is no significant problem of rape and sexual vi=
olence specific to Darfur, or that the military does not act in concert wit=
h armed groups in attacks that frequently result in civilian casualties.=20

Despite a number of measures taken by the authorities, notably the establis=
hment of special courts and committees, impunity remains the norm in most c=
ases of human rights violations in Darfur. [...]

The Sudanese national security apparatus requires fundamental overhaul. The=
CPA and the Interim National Constitution envisage the reform of the NISS,=
but no progress has been made on that front so far. A crucial part of this=
reform is the abolition of the broad immunity granted to officers of the s=
ecurity apparatus for acts committed in the course of =93official=94 duties=
, which promotes impunity and is inconsistent with the principle of equalit=
y before the law. [...]

The responsibility to protect entails not only putting an immediate stop to=
violations: it also means prevention and prosecution. Where impunity is al=
lowed to prevail, protection will remain elusive. The international communi=
ty took a significant step in this direction in the case of Darfur last yea=
r when the Security Council referred the situation there to the Internation=
al Criminal Court. It is important for the ICC to exercise its mandate with=
relation to Darfur robustly and visibly, with the full cooperation of the =
GNU and the support of the international community, especially in light of =
the fact that Sudanese efforts at establishing accountability and ensuring =
justice and reparation for the victims and survivors of the conflict have s=
o far proved inadequate. [...]"

2. Reuters, Richard Waddington, "UN rights chief urges ICC to act on Darfur=
" - 11 May 2006
http://today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=3DworldNews&storyID=3D2=
006-05-11T140749Z_01_L11741539_RTRUKOC_0_US-SUDAN-ARBOUR.xml

"The International Criminal Court must act more decisively to bring to tria=
l those guilty of war crimes in Darfur because Sudanese officials have so f=
ar proved incapable of doing so, the top U.N. human rights official said.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour, just back =
from a visit to Sudan, said on Thursday that despite government promises no=
official had been tried and punished for any of the serious human rights v=
iolations committed in the vast western region of Africa's largest state.

"Progress is invisible," she told a news conference. "I believe we must cal=
l on the ICC to act more robustly, and visibly discharge the mandate ... th=
at the (U.N.) Security Council has conferred on it," Arbour said. [...]

The Sudanese government has said it was fully capable of investigating and =
bringing to justice those responsible for crimes in Darfur. But Arbour said=
there was no sign any of the commissions of inquiry and other bodies set u=
p by Khartoum to investigate allegations of sexual crimes and other abuse h=
ad had any effect. [...]

"The government says it has taken many initiatives to address the issue of =
sexual violence. The initiatives, as far as I am aware, continue to be pape=
r initiatives," Arbour said. "There is a striking imbalance in Darfur betwe=
en the attention the government pays to state security and the totally inad=
equate protection of human security," she said. [...]

Arbour, who said her office would publish a new report on Darfur on May 16,=
said the only way to achieve lasting peace in the region, as well as in th=
e south of Sudan, was by disarming and demobilizing the various armed facti=
ons. [...]

3. UN News Service, "UN rights chief paints grim picture of worsening Darfu=
r crisis" - 5 May 2006
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=3D18367&Cr=3DSudan&Cr1=3DDarfu=
r

"The human rights crisis in Sudan=92s Darfur region is in some respects wor=
se than 18 months ago, humanitarian aid is declining, the national security=
apparatus inspires fear among hundreds of thousands of internally displace=
d persons (IDPs), and rebel attacks are reported to be causing massive disp=
lacements, the top United Nations rights official said today in Khartoum.=20

Impunity remains the norm in human rights violations, UN rights monitors ha=
ve repeatedly been denied access to detention facilities, and the Internati=
onal Criminal Court (ICC), to which the situation has been referred, should=
act =93robustly and visibly,=94 UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Loui=
se Arbour added at the end of a six-day visit. [...]"

**********************************************
B. DARFUR PEACE AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

1. Darfur Peace and Accountability Act (H.R. 3127), Passed House on 6 April=
2006, Submitted to Senate
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=3Dh109-3127

"Section 2: FINDINGS

(10) On March 31, 2005, the United Nations Security Council passed Security=
Council Resolution 1593, referring the situation in Darfur since July 1, 2=
002, to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and calling on t=
he Government of Sudan and all parties to the conflict to cooperate fully w=
ith the Court."

**********************************************
C. REACTIONS TO DARFUR PEACE AGREEMENT AND ROLE OF JUSTICE

1. The Denver Post, Ved P. Nanda Contributing Columnist, Opinion, "Darfur a=
ccord must succeed" - 9 May 2006
http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_3799136=20=20

"Under intense international pressure, the Sudanese government and the bigg=
est Darfur rebel group last Friday signed a peace accord in Abuja, Nigeria.=
Efforts are underway to bring the two smaller rebel factions that rejected=
the deal into the agreement.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, the United Kingdom's Intern=
ational Development Secretary, Hillary Benn, and many African leaders were =
in Abuja to help the African Union mediators. Zoellick said the deal could =
be "a very important day of hope and opportunity for the poor people of Dar=
fur but it is only a step." The peace agreement is indeed an important firs=
t step. [...]

The settlement includes a cease-fire; disarming of the government-backed, m=
ainly Arab janjaweed militias; integration of rebel forces into Sudan's arm=
y; compensation for war victims; and a majority of legislators from rebel f=
actions in the three state governments in Darfur. But the rebels' demand fo=
r a new vice presidential post from Darfur was not met. [...]

The United Nations and the U.S. have imposed a travel ban and asset freezes=
against four Sudanese leaders. There is a strong movement in the U.S. to e=
ncourage sanctions in the form of divestment from Sudan. While China oppose=
s sanctions, the U.N. Security Council did initiate several indictments of =
Sudanese leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity to the Internat=
ional Criminal Court at The Hague. As those responsible for these crimes ar=
e brought to justice, these indictments for atrocities should be a powerful=
deterrent to perpetrators of such atrocities in the future. [...]"

2. Physicians for Human Rights, "Statement from Physicians for Human Rights=
on the Darfur Peace Agreement" - 6 May 2006
http://www.phrusa.org/research/sudan/news_2006-05-06.html=20

"Physicians for Human Rights welcomes the Darfur Peace Agreement as a chanc=
e to stop the killing of civilians, widespread rape, pillaging and burning =
of villages. Enabling Darfurians to return to their homes and rebuild in sa=
fety is paramount. [...]

If the agreement is adhered to by all parties, it will be a tremendous step=
forward and offer hope for millions of displaced people. But lasting peace=
cannot be truly secured without justice: criminal prosecution and compensa=
tion for the victims. The criminal justice system in Sudan, including polic=
e and local courts, must undergo serious reform if it is to protect and def=
end the rights of the victims of rape, torture, theft and violent attacks.

While the International Criminal Court continues to investigate genocide, c=
rimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Darfur, the US and the i=
nternational community should also assure that the main perpetrators, the G=
overnment of Sudan and their proxy militias, return their ill-gotten gain b=
y paying compensation and reparations to the communities they have torn asu=
nder.

PHR welcomes the inclusion of compensation for victims in the peace agreeme=
nt. [...]

The peace agreement should not in any way obstruct or restrict investigatio=
ns and prosecutions for the heinous crimes committed in Darfur. The people =
of Darfur deserve peace with justice."

**********************************************
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 inde=
pendent NGO movement dedicated to the establishment of the International Cr=
iminal Court as a fair, effective, and independent international organizati=
on. 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 t=
o basic queries and to raise awareness about the ICC's trigger mechanisms a=
nd procedures, as they develop. The Coalition as a whole, and its secretari=
at, do not endorse or promote specific investigations or prosecutions or ta=
ke a position on situations before the ICC. However, individual CICC member=
s may endorse referrals, provide legal and other support on investigations,=
or develop partnerships with local and other organizations in the course o=
f their efforts.
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Communications to the ICC can be sent to:
ICC
P.O. Box 19519
2500 CM The Hague
The Netherlands