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Darfur: More reaction to Hilal appointment; HRW and Save Darfur push for cooperation with the Court

22 Jan 2008

Dear Colleagues,

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

This digest includes excerpts of a statement by FIDH and SOAT jointly condemning the appointment of alleged Janjaweed leader Musa Hilal to a government position; Human Rights Watch press release urging British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to use his upcoming trip to Beijing as an opportunity to press for greater Chinese involvement to "pressure Khartoum to stop hindering the deployment of the new international peacekeeping force in Darfur and to cooperate with the International Criminal Court;" and a Save Darfur Coalition press release urging the U.N. Security Council to release a "Presidential Statement" in support of the International Criminal Court investigations in Darfur.

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.

With regards,

Sasha Tenenbaum
CICC Communications

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I. CONTINUED REACTION TO HILAL APPOINTMENT

i. "FIDH and SOAT Condemn Appointment of Alleged Janjaweed Leader to Senior Government Post," FIDH and SOAT joint press release, 21 January 2008, http://www.fidh.org/spip.php?article5120

"The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and its member organisation, the Sudan Organisation Against Torture (SOAT), condemn the decision to grant a senior post in the Sudanese government to Musa Hilal, the clan leader widely considered to be a top commander of Janjaweed militias responsible for atrocities in Darfur.

Hilal's appointment as an advisor to Federal Affairs Minister Abdel Basit Sabderat comes despite evidence gathered by human rights organisations suggesting that he played a part in recruiting and training militias, and that he was involved in several attacks on villages in 2003 and 2004. He has been subject to a United Nations travel ban and asset freezes since 2006.

'Musa Hilal's appointment will serve to further undermine the peace process in Darfur, which is already faltering following the collapse of the peace talks that began in October,' said Hashim Ahmed, acting director of SOAT. 'Those suspected of playing a role in the atrocities in Darfur must be transparently investigated according to due process, not granted positions of power in defiance of the millions who have suffered and the international community. This is the latest move in the Sudanese government's efforts to foster a culture of impunity for crimes carried out by its armed forces and allied militias.'

...FIDH and SOAT : Urge the Government of Sudan to immediately suspend the appointment of Musa Hilal to prove its willingness to fight against the impunity of those responsible for crimes committed in Darfur; Urge once again the Government of Sudan to fully cooperate with the ICC by arresting and handing over Ali Kushayb and Ahmed Haroun; Call upon the international community, and in particular the UN Security Council to pressure the government of Sudan to comply with the ICC arrest warrants and ensure justice is done for the victims of Darfur.

ii. "Sudan's president appoints Janjaweed leader as adviser," by Xan Rice, East Africa correspondent and Julian Borger (The Guardian-London), 20 January 2008, http://www.guardian.co.uk/sudan/story/0,,2244622,00.html

"A tribal sheikh described as 'the poster child for Janjaweed atrocities in Darfur' has been given a senior government position by the Sudanese authorities. Musa Hilal, who is accused of leading militias on a state-sponsored campaign to cleanse parts of Darfur of non-Arab farmers, will act as special adviser to the minister of federal government.

The appointment was made despite Hilal facing a UN travel ban and sanctions for his role in the conflict, and ahead of his possible indictment by the international criminal court for war crimes (ICC).

Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, defended the appointment yesterday: 'He has a very influential personality in Darfur. He has contributed greatly to stability and security in the region. Speaking in Turkey, Bashir added: 'We think the accusations against him are untrue. We certainly do not believe them.'

...Analysts say Hilal's nomination will act as a further stumbling block to efforts to persuade Darfur's myriad rebel groups to enter peace talks with the government, whom they accuse of condoning and even rewarding people responsible for atrocities in Sudan's western region.

...This is not the first time that Bashir has defied the international legal system in the selection of senior staff. Last September, he appointed Ahmad Muhammad Harun, one of two men sought by the ICC for war crimes, as state minister for humanitarian affairs. The other accused, an alleged Janjaweed leader known as Ali Kushayb, was freed from jail the following month.

Richard Dicker, director of the international justice programme at Human Rights Watch, said that the UN secretary general, Ban Ki Moon, who is due to meet Bashir during an AU summit next week, should insist that Hilal's position be revoked.

'Hilal is the poster child for Janjaweed atrocities in Darfur,' said Dicker. 'Rewarding him with a special government post is a slap in the face to Darfur victims and to the UN security council.'

... As part of its case against Harun, prosecutors at the ICC described Hilal as a 'notorious militia/Janjaweed leader' who spoke alongside Harun at a militia rally in 2003, making a 'very racist' speech in which he talked of 'holy war'. The court is planning to issue more indictments and Hilal is thought to be high on the list of candidates...."

II. HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, SAVE DARFUR COALITION URGE ICC ACTION

i. "UK: Brown Should Press Rights in China: Prime Minister Should Take up Domestic, Foreign Policy Issues" Human Rights Watch Press Release, 16 January 2008, http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/01/16/china17796.htm

"British Prime Minister Gordon Brown should use his trip to Beijing to discuss urgent domestic and international human rights concerns with the Chinese government, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to the prime minister. Brown will be visiting China from January 18 to 20.

...In its letter, Human Rights Watch urged Brown to discuss six issues with the Chinese leadership: [one of six issues mentioned]...Limited Chinese support for international efforts to promote civilian protection in Darfur, Sudan. Although China has supported key UN resolutions and put some public pressure on the Sudanese government, greater Chinese involvement is needed to pressure Khartoum to stop hindering the deployment of the new international peacekeeping force in Darfur and to cooperate with the International Criminal Court...."

ii. Save Darfur Coalition Press Release, 10 January 2008, http://www.savedarfur.org/newsroom/releases/save_darfur_pushes_sudan_sanctions_icc_action_with_security_council/

In a letter to Libyan Ambassador to the United Nations, Giadalla A. B. Ettalhi, the Save Darfur Coalition "urged the U.N. Security Council to impose targeted sanctions on Sudanese officials responsible for obstructing the deployment of UNAMID and crimes against humanity, and to release a "Presidential Statement" in support of the International Criminal Court investigations in Darfur.

....The coalition also called upon the Security Council to act swiftly to release a presidential statement in support of the ICC investigations in Darfur....

According to testimony before the Security Council, the Sudanese regime has refused to arrest or prosecute the two individuals that where indicted by the ICC for crimes against humanity, Ahmed Haroun and Ali Kosheib.

...[Quoting the letter Giadalla A. B. Ettalhi]...[O]n 5 December 2007, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, briefed the Security Council on the status of his indictments in Darfur and his ongoing investigations. His testimony highlighted the complete lack of cooperation on the part of the Government of Sudan.

Following these briefings by Mr. Eliasson, Mr. Guéhenno, and Mr. Moreno-Ocampo, John Holmes (Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs), briefed the Security Council on 7 December 2007, and described a deteriorating humanitarian situation. The lack of security has had a direct, negative impact on the ability of the international community to respond to the humanitarian disaster in Darfur.

After listening to the alarming testimonies of these four officials, the Security Council has done nothing. The Security Council is thus abdicating its responsibility to ensure security in the world, and is setting the dangerous precedent that member states can ignore the Security Council.

Specifically, we recommend that Libya work through the Security Council during the month of January to...Release a Presidential Statement in support of the International Criminal Court investigations in Darfur. As outlined by Mr. Moreno-Ocampo, despite international legal obligations, the Sudanese regime has refused to arrest or prosecute the two individuals indicted by the ICC for their part in crimes against humanity in Darfur: Ahmed Haroun and Ali Kosheib.

...The Security Council should act on the report of the ICC on 5 December by releasing a presidential statement condemning the lack of cooperation by the Sudanese government and should impose punitive measures until there is complete cooperation. This action by the Security Council would signal an end to the atmosphere of impunity that enables and emboldens war criminals such as Haroun and Kosheib.

III. 'RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT' RESOLUTION IN DARFUR

"Diplomatic Memo: Intervention, Hailed as a Concept, Is Shunned in Practice" by Warren Hoge, New York Times, 20 January 2008, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/world/africa/20nations.html?em&ex=1201064400&en=ab449b365d93b5ae&ei=5087


"Three years after the United Nations adopted a groundbreaking resolution to help it intervene to stop genocide, even longtime supporters of the rule acknowledge that it has not helped the organization end the violence in Darfur. The General Assembly resolution, approved in 2005, held nations responsible for shielding their citizens from mass atrocities and established the right of international forces to step in if nations did not fulfill this new 'responsibility to protect.'

'It was the high-water mark when the General Assembly endorsed the concept; it was an incredible leap forward from the whole crippling debate over whether humanitarian intervention wasn't just a Trojan horse for neo-imperialism,' said John Prendergast, co-chairman of the Enough Project, a Washington-based group dedicated to preventing genocide.

'When it happened in 2005,' he said, 'you believed that potentially things could be different. But in the daily slugfest of international policy making, it hasn't survived the first test: Darfur.'

...Samantha Power, a professor at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, said, 'We have more than 150 countries on the books saying they believe this responsibility exists, but what advocates have begun to understand is that governments will never exercise this responsibility naturally or eagerly, they will only exercise it if they feel they are going to pay a price for not exercising it.'...."

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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 (potential and current), or situations under analysis 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.

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